County might not accept new Ellenburg bridge

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Shayne Pendergast looks over the Narrows Road bridge in Ellenburg. The new bridge was completed July 23, but cracks in the archways have been discovered, causing the county to consider not accepting the bridge as complete. Pendergast and many others who live on the south shore of Chateaugay Lake would have to drive 12 miles out of their way to get across the lake if the bridge needs to be replaced again.

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September 7, 2010

By JOE LoTEMPLIO Staff Writer The Press Republican Tue Sep 07, 2010, 03:28 AM EDT

ELLENBURG — Inspection of a brand-new bridge shows flaws that may prompt the county to refuse to accept the project.

Clinton County legislators were informed recently that inspection of the newly completed Narrows Road Bridge in the Town of Ellenburg showed hairline cracks in some of the archway supports.

The bridge, which provides passage from the north shore of Chateaugay Lake on Route 374 to the south shore, was replaced this summer as part of the federal stimulus spending plan. The job cost about $1.3 million, and the work was done by J.E. Sheehan Contracting Corp. of Potsdam.

A recent review of the work by state inspectors turned up the cracks in six of the nine pre-fabricated cement archways, according to Clinton County Highway Superintendent Al Rascoe.

The pre-fab archways were supplied by Contech Construction Products of Ohio, a subcontractor for J.E. Sheehan.

Rascoe said the cracks are very small and might not even be seen by the naked eye.

The bridge is open for traffic and is not deemed to be a safety concern right now.

"It is fully usable," Rascoe said. "If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be open.

"We are more concerned about the lifespan of this bridge and how these cracks will affect it."

County Legislator Keith Defayette, who chairs the county's Transportation Committee, said the county also needs to be concerned about liability.

A Press-Republican request for a comment from Jim Sheehan, president of J.E. Sheehan Contracting Corp., went unreturned.

Work began on the new bridge in mid-April and was completed July 23.

While the bridge was out, residents had to take a 12-mile detour into Franklin County to get across the narrows part of the lake.

The prospect of facing that detour again is not welcome news to those who live on the south shore of the lake.

"That would be terrible," said 15-year-old Shayne Pendergast, whose family owns a camp on the lake.

"It would add another half-hour on our trip."

Rascoe said that if the county is not satisfied with the work, it can refuse to accept the bridge as complete and ask for a new one. If that is the case, the issue will likely wind up in court, he said.

"We will receive a report after Labor Day from the company and the engineers about how to address this, and we will go from there."