Officials considers bridge work

PENN YAN—Although it is more than one year away, plans have been ongoing for rerouting traffic in Penn Yan during the six months the Liberty Street bridge is closed for replacement.
Construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2011 and work will continue through the winter, ending in June, 2012. The details of traffic rerouting are expected to be discussed at the Aug. 17 meeting of the Penn Yan village board.
The Keuka Lake Outlet divides the village in half and the Liberty Street and Main Street bridges are the two main routes between the north and south sections of the village. A third bridge over the Outlet on Cherry Street has more limited use due to its location, a sharp curve, and steep hills on each side of it.
On July 27, Mike Griffin from New York State Department of Transportation  presented the latest proposal for rerouting traffic to the village board. Concerns had been raised at a meeting earlier in the year with the first proposal.  Griffin said he had been working with village staff trying to work out details. He said, “We’re very sensitive to traffic in the village in the summer.” This was one reason work was scheduled to take place outside the busiest months.
Griffin outlined the alternate route which would take northbound traffic from Lake Street to Main Street over the Main Street bridge. Wagner Street would be changed to one way, taking traffic to Liberty Street and back to 14A. Southbound trucks would be detoured at Soldiers and Sailors Hospital at the north side of the village, routing them to North Avenue then right on Main Street.
Traffic signal timing would be changed to move traffic in the most efficient manner. Griffin said, “The community gave us very good ideas. We believe we have a very solid, viable route. We would like to explain it to the public in August.”
Trustee Wayne Davidson asked who would fix any damage that resulted from the construction. Griffin said photos would be taken prior to the start of the project and any damages from the construction would be paid for by the state. Davidson also asked about damage to water mains and Griffin responded trucks use it now.
Trustee Willie Allison said one concern was the bottleneck at Elm Street. There is also a weak water main on Main Street but he said the village is looking to work on it before the project begins.
Fire Chief Rick Retorick asked if the center lane on the Main Street Bridge could be kept open for emergency vehicles.