Boquet River Bridge Replacement

Project outcome: NYS DOT has informed the Town of Essex that they plan to replace the Route 22 bridge in Whallonsburg over the Boquet River (between Whallons Bay Road and Tyrrell Street). Traffic is expected be detoured along Whallons Bay Road and Tyrrell Street during construction. During the closure all properties and businesses in the area will remain accessible to residents and emergency responders.

Funding Sources: New York State

Timeline: March 11, 2024 through December 31, 2024

Performed by: New York State Department of Transportation / Winn Construction

Updates:

• April 3, 2024 - Town Historian Todd Goff has unearthed the DOT plans for the 1933 Bridge over the Boquet in Whallonsburg. A neat artifact for those who love local history!

• March 21, 2024 - Thanks to the DOT crew, they were able to save the historic marker that was on the old bridge. This marker will be transferred to our Historians for their preservation and record-keeping.

• March 11, 2024 - DOT has begun their work on the bridge on schedule. The detour around the bridge is in full effect with a 4-way stop at the southern end of Whitcomb’s (Walker Road intersection). DOT also provided the Town with a set of technical plan drawings to detail what the final bridge will look like.

• March 7, 2024 - Members of the community attended a presentation by DOT representatives about how the detour around the bridge replacement project is expected to be handled. Those community members in attendance were able to provide feedback, suggestions and concerns about the proposed detour. Thank you to everyone who could attend and to DOT for being willing to hear from locals most affected by their upcoming work.

• February 29, 2024 - Whallonsburg business owners, Town officials and NYS DOT are scheduled to meet on March 7th at 9:00am for the purpose of discussing last minute concerns as it relates to vehicular and pedestrian safety during the road detour.

• February 22, 2024 - NYS DOT has informed the Town of Essex and numerous other interested parties of the following:
  State Route 22 will be closed between the intersections of Rte. 22 @ Whallons Bay Road and Rte. 22 @ Tyrell Street. NB traffic will be detoured onto Whallons Bay Road to Tyrell Street back to Rte. 22 NB. SB traffic will be detoured onto Tyrell Street to Whallons Bay Road back to Rte. 22 SB. 

  The road will be closed on Monday March 11, 2024 and reopened Tuesday December 31, 2024.

• December 1, 2022 - Representatives from the Town, the Grange and Whitcomb’s met in Whallonsburg with NYS DOT representatives to discuss the bridge project and the impact it would have on local life.

• April 1, 2022 - Concerns have been voiced about the detouring of tractor trailers onto Whallons Bay Road and Tyrrell Street (weight of vehicles on Tyrrell Street, the ability to make safe left/right turns at the intersection of Tyrrell and Whallons Bay Road and increased traffic on Whallons Bay Road where it bisects the Grange and Whitcombs). I will share these concerns with the Essex Highway Department, Essex County DPW and NYS DOT to help alleviate these concerns before the final project commences.