By Doron Tyler Antrim, Hudson-Catskill Newspapers, link to original post
The Village of Catskill is seeking funds from a state-administered federal program that it hopes will help pay for the rehabilitation of the Black Bridge, which was closed last month because of safety concerns.
The Village Board of Trustees recently voted to approve the grant application, which is pursuing up to $200,000 from the Recreational Trails Program, which is funded by a 2005 federal law that allocated $244 billion for highways and public transportation.
The goal of the Recreation Trails Program is to provide for and maintain motorized and non-motorized recreational trials. In New York, the program is administered by the state Department of Transportation and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Village Department of Public Works Superintendent Lewis O’Connor has said the bridge’s walkway will need to be removed in order to replace the damaged steel underneath. The walkway may also be replaced.
The unanimous vote coincided with a formal request for proposal for engineering services that would produce a structural analysis of the span. The village DPW has met with Greene County officials about any county funds that could be used to pay for the engineering work. According to O’Connor, there is some money available. He has previously estimated the structural analysis could cost $5,000 or more.
The bridge was closed Sept. 13 after crews sent to repair a leak in the sewer line that runs under the bridge’s deck found that steel had disintegrated and support webbing beams were missing.
The bridge, which was built in 1882, was the last remaining part of the Catskill Mountain Railway. It was bought by the village in 1919 for $2,500.
The bridge, which spans the Catskill Creek, is popular — especially with Catskill students who travel it to get to school. Signs posted at both ends of the bridge — at Water Street and West Main Street — warn pedestrians that the span is off limits.
