Thruway Authority says bridge was already on its radar
Contributing Writer
An $8.3 million project is in full swing to replace the nearly 70-year-old Beaver Island Parkway Bridge over the I-190 section of the Thruway. Since late March, crews and heavy equipment have been tearing down the old and making way for the new, while motorists who previously took Beaver Island Exit 18B have had to follow a detour to get home, to work or to businesses on the Island since April 3.
Completion of the project is expected sometime this fall, depending on the weather.
Grand Islander James Strzalkowski was an early whistleblower who brought the deteriorating condition of that bridge to public notice. He said he first became concerned about the safety of the overpass in early 2015 after moving back to Western New York from Los Angeles.
“I had seen it because I was going underneath it every day. … When I first really looked, I was shocked,” he said. “You can see the rebar, and I actually did see a rock fall one time when a car was going underneath, hitting the car. And I could have sworn some debris has hit my car at times. I just happened to look because, you know how the bridges get backed up sometimes. … I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Strzalkowski, a licensed real estate sales person, said he went to Hutchinson Central Technical High School in Buffalo and studied engineering. “I knew that that was rusting … it definitely was deteriorating badly.”
He sent photos of the bridge to...
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