U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is awarding more than $1.8 million for the Delaware County Department of Public Works for bridge repairs from damage caused from Hurricane Irene last August.
“The Southern Tier suffered immense damage as a result of last year’s storm, but Delaware County was hit particularly hard and spent more than millions of dollars to clean up the damage,” said Schumer. “That’s why I applaud FEMA for doing the right thing by stepping up to the plate and covering a majority of the recovery costs. This will go a long way towards relieving Delaware County’s financial burden that they should not have to shoulder on their own.”
“These massive storms may be over a year behind us, but much of the damage is still here,” Senator Gillibrand said. “This funding will help our effort to clean up and rebuild key infrastructure so families and businesses in Delaware County can continue on the path to recovery, and get back on their feet.”
“We sincerely appreciate the efforts of Senators Gillibrand, Schumer and FEMA to help Delaware County recover from Hurricane Irene,” said Wayne Reynolds, Delaware County Department of Public Works Commissioner. “This bridge is extremely critical because the detour is long and requires travel over difficult terrain that is steep and difficult to maintain, especially during winter months.”
Heavy rains during Hurricane Irene resulted in an increase in velocity and volume of water flowing down Dry Brook. The flow of high velocity water scoured material from around and under the abutment on the north side of Bridge 20. The loss of structural fill material caused the abutment to drop approximately six feet in elevation and move downstream approximately two feet. The bent and twisted beams pulled on the south abutment to the point that the concrete that was poured over the beam sets and the original south abutment was cracked and damaged.
The funding from FEMA, worth $1,846,166 to cover 75 percent of the total project cost, will be used to help design and build a two-span, 147-foot long bridge to replace the damaged 76-foot long, single-span bridge.