The work planned for this week on the Ashford Avenue Bridge connecting Ardsley and Dobbs Ferry has been completed ahead of schedule, so the project is moving to the next stage.
The work is part of a $1.5 million project proposed by County Executive Robert P. Astorino and authorized by the Board of Legislators in the aftermath of events June 22, when concrete facing from the dies of the county-owned bridge fell onto the New York State Thruway below. The interim bridge work is being done by McNamee Construction Corp. It is expected to be completed this winter.
Sections of the southbound Saw Mill River Parkway below the bridge were scheduled to be closed in the overnight hours this entire week, but McNamee Construction completed the work ahead of schedule.
As a result, work will begin tomorrow (Oct. 24) and continue through Friday in a separate area, involving some daytime lane closures on the east bound side of Ashford Avenue. One lane in each direction from Southfield Avenue to Saw Mill River Road will be closed three days from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Workers will be installing cable to support the netting on the topside of the bridge.
There will be other northbound closures on the parkway beginning Monday when, weather permitting, work will continue to install netting and planking on the underside of the bridge. This will cause some road closures on the northbound Saw Mill River Parkway as follows until the early morning hours of Nov. 3:
- All lanes of the northbound Saw Mill River Parkway between Lawrence Street (Exit 16) and Route 119 (Exit 21) will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- The northbound left lane of the parkway will be closed starting at 8 p.m. and then the full northbound direction closed beginning at 11 p.m.
- The southbound left lane of the parkway will be closed from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. The northbound left lane will remain closed until 5:30 a.m.
The Saw Mill River Parkway is owned by the state, but policed by the county. A police officer will be posted at the traffic signal at the location of the Saw Mill Parkway and Lawrence Street (Exit 16). An extensive detour will be posted using Lawrence Street, Route 9A (Saw Mill River Road) and Route 119 (Main Street). The $1.5 million project is in addition to a $20 million long-range rehabilitation of the bridge, expected to be completed in 2017. That work will be paid for with a combination of federal, state and county funds.