EDINBURG - A significant public push to encourage the state to build a new Batchellerville Bridge began Wednesday night, when Edinburg volunteer firefighters spoke to a crowd of about 100 about the bridge's new weight limit and how it could affect emergency responders.
The public meeting, organized by the Edinburg Volunteer Fire Department, was intended to give the public information about the Fire Department's new procedures in light of the new weight limit posted on the Batchellerville Bridge over the summer by the state Department of Transportation.
The limit on the bridge, which is old and deteriorating, was reduced to 15 tons, which means some of Edinburg's fire trucks cannot cross the bridge without first pumping out their water. The department's mutual-aid companies, which often come to the scene of a structure fire to help Edinburg, are all relatively far away.
If there were to be a fire on Edinburg's south shore, for instance, Edinburg fire trucks might not be able to cross the bridge with any water in their trucks. That would mean the department would need to rely on the Broadalbin-Kennyetto Fire Company or the Middle Grove Fire Company to get to the scene, and there could be up to a 30-minute delay in them arriving at a fire.
Edinburg has a mini-pumper truck it can use, but that does not hold as much water as some of its other trucks. Because of all these problems, fire officials at the meeting encouraged action.
"If something [doesn't] move on this bridge, it's going to be a major downfall for us," Edinburg Fire Chief Wayne Seelow said.
The Fire Department and Edinburg's EMS group have formed a group called the Bridge of Life Committee, whose intention is to make sure people are aware of the potential public-safety dangers the deteriorating bridge presents. The group is hosting a walk at 10 a.m. Saturday across the bridge. The group hopes to have people line the structure's length.
People at the meeting said they are terrified every day they cross the bridge. The recent closure of the Crown Point Bridge from New York to Vermont has raised the stakes for people like Eva Higgins, who lives in Edinburg and whose four children cross the bridge daily to get to school.
Her family moved here from Schenectady two years ago without knowing about the bridge's situation.
"We love the community," she said. "We don't want to leave. We need that bridge fixed."
Others said they would work to contact their elected representatives to encourage them to find funding for the bridge. The DOT is working to redesign the bridge, and a letter from Supervisor Jean Raymond that Seelow read at the meeting said the state could be ready to seek construction bids in January. Now, the state could be as much as $10 million short of what the redesign would eventually cost.
"I think it's going to have to become political," said Edinburg resident Noel Waldo.
Zach Subar covers rural Fulton County news. He can be reached at ruralnews@leaderherald.com.
