DOT’s chief engineer personally visits bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway

TOWN OF SALINA, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation dispatched the agency’s chief engineering to personally study the railroad bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway last week, a spokesperson confirmed to NewsChannel 9 on Thursday.

The visit represents a renewed commitment by the state to solve the problem of trucks hitting the bridge.

According to a count by NewsChannel 9 and data from the DOT, this year’s number already tied the 2020 record not even half way through 2023.

The DOT never ruled out raising the bridge, but it’s been characterized as an unlikely option.

A 2011 report deemed it not feasible, citing CSX’s ownership and the cost.

In an interview with NewsChannel 9, aired on Newsmakers, DOT Regional Director David Smith first talked about the ongoing reassessment of altering the bridge.

Smith said, “Engineering is key here. To raise a railroad bridge, you have to modify tracks on either side of that for thousands of feet… You have to consider the impacts at the sound end and impact on north end, the Old Liverpool Road intersection’s at-grade crossing. That could be a significant alteration there, and could carry on beyond that.”

Smith also confirmed first to NewsChannel 9 the DOT’s immediate commitment to increasing and improving signage warning drivers of an upcoming bridge.

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