3
Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Verkeerdeer Kill Bridge
due replacement
By TED REMSNYDER
Commuters in the Town of Shawangunk
will have to deal with a degree of
construction-related
inconvenience
this summer, but by the fall they’ll be
rewarded with a brand new bridge along
Route 52 over the Verkeerder Kill. The
New York Department of Transportation
held a public outreach session on May 25
at the Walker Valley Fire Department to
give locals the rundown on what to expect
when the bridge replacement project
begins in earnest this week.
Francis Bossolini, an engineer
from Harrison & Burrowes Bridge
Constructors, the company in charge
of the construction, and Christopher
Carlon, the DOT’s Construction Quality
Assurance Engineer on the project, laid
out the process of the renovation in a
detailed presentation. By June 1, an
estimated 1.25 miles of Route 52 will be
closed off for the construction. A detour
will run along Johns Estate Road and
Burlingham Road for approximately three
miles before hooking up on the other side
of Route 52. A temporary traffic light will
be installed at the intersection of Johns
Estate and Burlingham, and will feature
a sensor in the ground that will detect
traffic at the stopping point. The light will
sit on red, but will turn green when cars
approach, so the traffic flow is expected
to be smooth.
The construction will run Monday
through Friday until the project is
eventually completed. “It’s a standard,
typical bridge replacement,” Bossolini
said. “There’s nothing out of the ordinary
here. The detour is probably the most
difficult engineering problem.” When the
work commences, the crew will demolish
the old bridge, install the foundation of
the new structure, pour the concrete for
the back abutment, set the steel girders
and then cast the concrete deck. The
team will then do the bridge rail work to
finish off the project. “The bridge will be
installed on new piles, down to bedrock,
Con