Bridge cracks force road closing, stymie access to Empire Plaza

PHOTOGRAPHER: Lee Coleman

State officials say it will be at least two weeks before the South Mall Expressway will reopen after 10-foot-long cracks in two bridge support beams were found earlier this week.

The state Department of Transportation closed the expressway to traffic in both directions between the Empire State Plaza and the Dunn Memorial Bridge on Wednesday. The Dunn Memorial Bridge between Albany and Rensselaer counties remains open to traffic, but some motorists have found it faster and easier to use the Patroon Island Bridge that carries Interstate 90 over the Hudson River.

The expressway closing caused traffic backups Thursday morning, as state workers came from Rensselaer into Albany, and again in the late afternoon, when they were leaving Albany for Rensselaer County, according to city police and state officials.

“Motorists should search out alternate routes,” said Lt. James Miller of the Albany Police Department.

Alternate route and detour signs have been posted by the DOT on roads near the expressway, and city police have been stationed at busy intersections during the morning and afternoon rush hours, Miller said.

Other road closures in the vicinity include: the Madison Avenue off ramp from I-787 south; the South Pearl Street on-ramp leading to the Dunn Memorial Bridge; and a portion of Broadway between the Quay Street connector and Madison Avenue.

Carol Breen, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said engineers and consultants are designing an temporary repair to the cracks on the two pier cap beams that support the expressway as it leads into the bridge. The cracks in the beams were found during a routine bridge inspection on Tuesday.

Breen said every bridge in the state is inspected by the DOT every two years. The last time the expressway was inspected was in 2009.

The temporary repair would allow the DOT to reopen the expressway as soon as possible, possibly within the next two to three weeks, Breen said. A permanent repair will be designed and implemented at a later date, she said.

The state is using Harrison and Burrowes Bridge Contractors of Glenmont as a consultant to design the emergency repair. More information about the repair is expected to be released today, Breen said.

Heather Groll, a spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services, said the closing of the expressway has not caused tenants at the Empire State Plaza any major traffic problems.

“DOT did a really good job in getting the word out,” Groll said,

The state OGS manages the plaza and notified its many tenants by email, signs and tenant information bulletins about the closure of the expressway.

“We haven’t had any significant uptick in [traffic] complaints,” Groll said.

She said it helps that the state Legislature is not in session, reducing the number of cars parked underneath the plaza and using the expressway.

The DOT has several traffic recommendations for motorists who normally use the expressway:

- The Dunn Memorial Bridge is open, but there is no access to the bridge from the expressway. Motorists can access Interstate 787 northbound and southbound from Rensselaer and from the Empire State Plaza.

- Motorists driving to Rensselaer from the Empire State Plaza are advised to take I-787 north to I-90 and the Patroon Island Bridge.

– Motorists can also take I-787 south to Exit 2 for South Pearl Street and the Port of Albany. They can then re-enter I-787 north and take Exit 3 for Route 9 south/Route 20 east, heading to the Dunn Memorial Bridge and Rensselaer.