Emma Wright / Assistant Photo Editor
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Despite the fact that construction to Downtown Binghamton’s Court Street Bridge has been underway for over a year now, the project may not be completed until the beginning of 2007. Final deadlines for completion of the bridge’s construction have been set back continually since October, and the bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic several times throughout the fall season.

Construction on the bridge was initiated in the fall of 2005. The Nov. 1 news release on the city’s Web site, which announced the third closing of the bridge, also stated that the project manager’s goal was “to have both approaches paved and completed by Nov. 17.” The bridge was also scheduled to be fully opened again, according to the city’s Web site, by early December.

But John Linsky, representative of the City of Binghamton’s Engineering Department, stated yesterday that he does not expect the bridge will be fully completed until the beginning of 2007. Normal traffic patterns, Linsky added, should resume within the next few days, but amenities such as the new railings, benches and lampposts may take much longer to complete. With the winter weather approaching, final clean-up on the project may likely be put off until the spring.

In a news release posted Oct. 10 on their Web site, CityofBinghamton.com, city officials stated that the bridge would be closed to vehicular traffic from Oct. 11 to Oct. 16 in order to allow for the pouring of concrete. Mayor Matt Ryan asked for motorists’ cooperation at this time, calling the five-day-long detour around the bridge “a minor inconvenience to ensure the investments we’re making are sound and long-lasting.”

This “minor inconvenience,” however, was not the only one that motorists were to be subjected to — the bridge was also closed from Oct. 20 to Oct. 23 for a second pouring, and again on Nov. 3 to mill the streets on both sides of the bridge.

The recent flooding, despite having devastating effects elsewhere in the city and Broome County as a whole, resulting in an estimated $6.5 million in damage to infrastructure, did not result in any damage to the Court Street Bridge itself. Nor are the floods responsible for further setbacks to completion of the project. Rather, Linksy said, delayed construction completion has been the result of “normal construction delays,” such as the inability to pour concrete during rainy weather.

Although the addition of lampposts, benches and railings do much to improve the aesthetic value of the bridge itself, the project was not originally undertaken for beautification purposes and is unrelated to the city’s recent “Clean and Green” initiative, which focuses more on planting gardens, park clean-up and street maintenance. According to engineers, re-construction of the bridge was originally undertaken because the deck of the bridge was “structurally deteriorated to the point that it absolutely had to be replaced.”

Mayor Matt Ryan stated in a city news release that he appreciates the “understanding and cooperation of the motorists” as city engineers work to complete the project and ensure the improved quality of the bridge.