By Krystle S. Morey

The bridge on Granville’s Church Street is slated for replacement next summer – and with minimal impact on traffic.

Bids were accepted by Washington County’s Department of Public Works last December and awarded the lead on the project was McFarland Johnson, of Saratoga.

“The main reason we selected them was because they are doing an accelerated construction,” said Deb Donohue, superintendent of county public works.

The bridge will be pre-cast, made in sections and transported to the site for assembly. She projected the bridge will be closed less than two months.

“It will result in a minimal disruption of traffic,” Donohue said.

The bridge will be replaced with an arch-style bridge, similar to the one there now, with slate accents chosen for the final design.

“They are hopefully going to have some sort of slate look to it,” said Donohue. “That will depend on the cost and the State Historic Preservation Office.”

Donohue said the new bridge should fall within the footprint of the current structure.

“It’s anticipated that there will be a minimal change to the footprint, but it’s a little too early to tell for sure,” she said. “The design phase … will determine any change.”

Despite recent rehabilitation and repairs to the bridge in 2015 and 2016, it is set for a full replacement. The hydraulic opening is one reason for replacing the bridge, which was installed in the early 1900s.

The estimated $5.2 million replacement project is federally funded with a five percent local share, Donohue said.

The bridge will be designed this summer and scheduled for construction next summer. Construction bids will be solicited late this year or in early 2020.

There here will be community outreach meetings to discuss the design and project, to get input from the public. No dates had been set at press time.

“They will be later in the design phase, when they have a better handle on exactly what they want to put in there,” Donahue said.