HIGH FALLS – The small quiet hamlet of High Falls in Marbletown
got treated to a spectacle Wednesday morning, as Governor Andrew Cuomo
visited to observe the demolition of the Route 213 bridge over Rondout
Creek. He was joined by Ulster County and State Department of Transportation
officials.
“New York State is making countless investments in our roads and
bridges, to revitalize these critical pieces of our transportation network,”
said DOT Commissioner Matthew Driscoll. He praised Governor Cuomo for
securing $27 billion over five years, to rebuild infrastructure, most
of it upstate.
“We’re here to blow up a bridge. Life is tough when you’re
a bridge,” the Governor joked, noting that the new replacement will
be safer, sleeker, with pedestrian walkways and better views.
“Infrastructure in New York was neglected for a long time. People
take it for granted. It’s boring, it’s not sexy, roads and
bridges – but it’s vital,” Cuomo said. “Transportation
facilities are the arteries and veins of our economy. That’s how
you move people; that’s how you move goods. And if you overlook
the infrastructure, you do it at your own peril.”
Cuomo said the state is conducting the most robust construction program
in New York history, including rebuilding the Tappan Zee Bridge, and both
metropolitan airports.
News from Washington that the US Senate is proposing $1 trillion in new
infrastructure funding is welcome news, Cuomo added. “We promise
them that if they are ready to invest, we are ready to build. We will
build better and faster and safer than any other state,” he said.
“We are ready to put that money to work,” the governor said.
With that, the governor, assisted by Driscoll and Ulster County Executive
Michael Hein, put their hands together on the detonation plunger, and
detonated the explosive charges placed earlier on the old bridge, which
exploded with a thundering boom at a safe distance 1,000 thousand feet
away.
The steel frame disappeared into a cloud of gunsmoke, and afterward journalists
were permitted to approach the debris and observe the steel beams lying
in the middle of the creek. Excavating machines with giant claws proceeded
to maneuver down the embankment to recover the pieces from the water for
proper disposal.
The new bridge is expected to be completed by late June 2017. Until then,
traffic has been re-routed up Cottekill Road down to Lucas Turnpike.
