SPEAKING OF BRIDGES...

Feb. 1 Deadline for Public Comments Regarding Portageville Bridge Replacement
Friday, January 18, 2012

Ironically, I became aware of the demolition of the Hojack swing bridge after visiting the Rochester Subway site for an article about another bridge - the Portageville railroad bridge just south of Upper Falls in Letchworth State Park.

The Portageville railroad bridge was built in 1875 to replace a previous wooden bridge that had been destroyed in a fire. Since the park was created in 1907 (after William Pryor Letchworth gave his 1000 acre estate to New York State as public parklands) the bridge has been a part of the park since the beginning, and has long since become an accepted part of the Upper Falls viewshed. I may have only had two mediocre photos of the Hojack swing bridge - but I have many photos of the Portageville bridge.

In 2008 a study showed that the bridge is deteriorating and the state is currently looking at alternatives. Repairing and upgrading the existing bridge is neither financially nor technically feasible. Currently the state is looking at two main options: building a new bridge slightly south of the current one and demolishing the current bridge, or building the new bridge while leaving the current bridge standing.

As iconic as the current bridge is, I have to admit I like the proposed replacement:

(photo/visualization courtesy of NYS DOT)

A number of arguments can be presented for saving the current bridge, in particular the suggestion has been made to turn it into a pedestrian walkway similar to the very successful Walkway Over the Hudson. I think it would be fantastic to have a way for people to enjoy the view down the gorge from above Upper Falls without taking the risk of going out on the railroad bridge. On the other hand, I think the view with both bridges is kind of ugly.

(photo/visualization courtesy of NYS DOT)

Either bridge alone frames the view over the falls fairly nicely, but together they clash. I also suspect that it would take a lot of work and money to bring the current bridge up to the safety standards it would need to meet - the railroad bridge that was used for the Walkway Over the Hudson was in incredibly good shape to begin with. The same was true for the Rosendale railroad trestle, which was acquired by the Walkill Valley Land Trust in 2009 already decked for half its length, declared unsafe in 2010, and closed to pedestrians for almost 3 years while the Trust raised the 1.4 million dollars it needs to renovate the upper structure. Based on the 2008 inspection it seems likely substantially more work would need to be done on the Portageville bridge.

So I'm in favor of an alternate proposition - construct the new bridge and include some sort of walkway or viewing platform in the bridge support structure, and demolish the old bridge I've seen this suggested by several other people; hopefully enough will submit comments to that effect to the DOT will take it seriously and put pressure on Norfolk Southern. Having said that, a very convincing argument for keeping both bridges has been put forth by Donald Pevsner, a railroad preservationist, transportation lawyer, tour operator and former syndicated columnist for Universal Press Syndicate. Either way, my hope is that both the DOT and Norfolk Southern will take the creation of a new walkway/viewing area very seriously.

NYSDOT will make their decision based on the findings of the DEIS and public comments. Comments are due Friday, February 1, 2013 at the address below:

Raymond F. Hessinger, P.E.
Director, Freight & Passenger Rail Bureau
New York State Department of Transportation
50 Wolf Road, POD 54
Albany, New York 12232
-or-

PortagevilleBridge@dot.ny.gov

JMH

Rochester's Hojack Swing Bridge Demolished
Friday, January 18, 2013

For 108 years the Hojack railroad bridge was one of the landmarks of at the mouth of the Genesee River, near the Port of Rochester. Built in 1905 for the New York Central railroad, the swing bridge was designed to connect track on the two side of the river but could rotate 90 degrees to allow boat traffic to pass through. It had been out of use since 1995 and was left in the open position. Starting in 1999 the Coast Guard pursued removal of the bridge and support column because they were hazards to navigation. For a variety of reasons, including a certain amount of public interest in saving the bridge, the demolition order was never carried out. A summary of the struggle to save the bridge can be found here (scroll down below the description of the book and proposed art exhibit.)

Apparently demolition was again pursued in the spring of 2011, but this time very quietly - the news took 6 months to reach the media, and the "Save Our Bridge" found their efforts stonewalled. Demolition of the bridge started in late October last year. Photos of the demolition can be found at the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum's Facebook page, and some of the most recent photos can be found on the Rochester Subway site.

 

I must admit to mixed feelings about this... on the one hand, the bridge was a rusting hulk in the middle of the river, and it's unlikely anything would have ever been done with it - the cost to renovate it for some other type of use (even if just decorative) would have been prohibitive (some versions of the story behind the current push to rmove the bridge state that CSX was the driving force, having finally realized they'd save more by no longer paying maintainence and insurance fees on a bridge that they'd never use - for that matter, they probably got a nice price for the scrap metal.) But at the same time there's something compelling about these relics of our past and it makes me a bir sad to see them torn down and thrown away - one more connection with those who came before us gone forever.

I think the biggest surprise was that when I dug through my photos I only had two that showed the bridge in any detail, both shot from a good ways away. I'm usually pretty camera-happy when it comes to relics like this. Only explanation I can offer is the location - the landings where the track came on shore is pretty out out of the way from both Ontario Beach Park and the Genesee Riverway Trail, which is where Ann and I would usually be if we were up by the mouth of the river. So this reinforces what I already knew - get photos when I can, since there's no telling when things will change without warning.



JMH