The Latham Circle bridges on Route 2 will be replaced starting next week, state Department of Transportation officials said Thursday.
The work will last through the summer, but this spring it will be timed to avoid conflicting with construction on the nearby Northway Twin Bridges, they said.
There will be lane closures on both Route 2 and Route 9 starting Monday and continuing through Labor Day.
Between now and Memorial Day, work will be done only on weekdays, to avoid conflicts with the high-profile work that will close one of the two Twin Bridges each weekend.
Latham Circle is expected to see a major increase in traffic on those weekends, when significant delays are expected on the Northway. Route 9 is the recommended detour route, and Latham Circle is a way of accessing it from Northway Exit 6.
Both state highways at the intersection are among the region’s busiest, with Route 2 averaging 22,930 vehicles per day, and Route 9 averaging 24,740 vehicles, according to DOT figures.
The work will be done by Tetra Tech Construction of Mayfield, under a $7.4 million state contract.
“The bridges are safe, but their condition warrants their replacement,” said DOT spokesman Bryan Viggiani.
“The big things with this project are the decks. The decks are deteriorated significantly in some locations.”
The Latham Circle bridges, which carry Route 2 in a traffic circle over a sunken section of Route 9, were built between 1957 and 1959.
DOT will limit lane closures to weekdays until the Twin Bridges work is completed. The lane closures on Route 2 will occur only during off-peak hours, Viggiani said. Some of the work will also be performed at night, in another effort to lessen the impact on drivers.
Once the Twin Bridges work is done, there will be an accelerated 60-day schedule for the Latham Circle project, Viggiani said. At that time, Route 2 will be reduced to one lane in each direction. The bridges will be replaced in two stages, with the inner portion replaced first, followed by the outer.
The structural steel and concrete decks of the bridges will be replaced with prefabricated units. They will be manufactured off-site and will be trucked to the circle.
After Labor Day, Route 2 and Latham Circle will have two lanes open, but lane closures will still occur on Route 9, Viggiani said.
In addition to replacing the bridges, both state highways and their ramps will be repaved; the vertical retaining walls along Route 9 will be repaired; guide rails on the Route 9 ramps will be replaced; signage will be replaced; and a new sidewalk will be added on the north side of Route 2, from Sunset Drive to Old Loudon Road.
“The point is to get in and get out, get all the work done, and minimize traffic disruptions now and in the future,” Viggiani said.
During the 60-day summer construction, large trucks will be detoured away from Latham Circle due to the narrow lanes. Truck detours will have signs.
DOT has established a website to provide motorists with project updates at www.dot.ny.gov/latham.
Information will also be available by calling 511 or visiting www.511NY.org.
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