WINDSOR -- Work will start this spring on replacing the Ouaquaga Bridge, a one-lane bridge over the Susquehanna River that can no longer support fire trucks and other heavy equipment.
The bridge, located in the towns of Windsor and Colesville, is jointly owned by the two towns, said Windsor Supervisor Randy Williams. Both town boards are working together to have the bridge replaced.
"This shows you how towns can cooperate without a lot of fanfare to get things done," Colesville Supervisor Ed Mosher said.
The federal government will pay 95 percent of the estimated $2.5 million to $3 million cost of replacing the bridge, Williams said. Colesville and Windsor will each pay 2.5 percent of the cost.
Replacement work is in the final design phase, Williams said. Delta Engineering of Binghamton is working on the project.
Bids will go out this spring, with work scheduled to start sometime later this year and be completed sometime next year, Williams said. The new, two-lane bridge will be built next to the old bridge.
Built in 1898, the steel-truss bridge is on both the state and national registers of historical places. The old bridge will remain in place as a pedestrian bridge because of its historical significance, Williams said.
The bridge is known as the Ouaquaga Bridge, even though its formal name is the Ouaquaga Lenticular Truss Bridge, according to the National Register of Historic Places.
The old bridge is posted at 5 tons, meaning fire trucks and other heavy equipment can't drive across it, Williams said. Vehicles must detour around the bridge for about 10 miles, which can be a problem in an emergency where every minute counts.
"It's a health and safety issue," Williams said.
Some farmers who live in the area cannot drive heavy equipment across the bridge, Mosher said.
In a separate project, plans also call for building a boat launch near the bridge, Williams said. "It will open up some opportunities for the river," he said.