NYSDOT Wrapping Up Freemans Bridge Project
The New York State Department of Transportation recently finished major construction on the rehabilitation of Freemans Bridge over the Mohawk River, improving travel efficiency and safety along a heavily traveled connector between the City of Schenectady and the Town of Glenville in Schenectady County.
[Above photo by NYSDOT.]
Only “minor finishing work” remains on this project, the agency said; a project that also extended the service life of the bridge by 25 years.
Built in 1985, Freemans Bridge is one of five river crossings in the Schenectady County region, with an average of 26,442 motor vehicles crossing the span per day.
The eight-month-long rehabilitation project replaced the bridge’s concrete riding surface and bridge joints, painted the steel girders, repaired the concrete underneath the bridge, installed new solar-powered navigation lights, and added new pavement to the bridge approaches, NYSDOT said.
An existing sidewalk on the west side of the bridge was widened to 10 feet to create a new shared-use path that links to existing multi-use paths on either side of the bridge, enhancing walking and bicycling opportunities.
“New York State is not only restoring our infrastructure but building it back better and more resilient to meet the demands of the 21st Century,” NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez noted in a statement.
“The rehabilitated Freeman’s Bridge strengthens an important link that helps connect the Capital Region together and exemplifies one of the great things about transportation – its ability to bring communities together and make it easier for residents and visitors alike to experience all that they have to offer,” she added.
