CLIFTON PARK – The new permanent bridge which carries Sitterly Road over I-87 opened Wednesday afternoon, days ahead of schedule. The previous permanent bridge was damaged last year, prompting officials to install a temporary bridge in its place.
“Today, we’re excited to announce the opening of the Sitterly Road Bridge over the Northway,” NYS DOT regional director Patrick Barnes said. “Many of you may remember back in April of 2021 this bridge was struck by an over-height vehicle.”
The Sitterly Road Bridge was damaged when a boom lift being towed on a trailer hit the overpass, damaging it beyond repair. A temporary bridge was installed a few weeks after the incident.
The temporary bridge was closed in June so it could be removed and the new permanent bridge could be finished. It was estimated earlier this summer that the new bridge would reopen in mid-to-late September.
“We didn’t take our foot off the gas, we kept on going, because we had to replace the entire bridge,” Barnes said. “We wanted to do it as quickly as possible. Within a span of about 17 months, we went from a damaged bridge to the new open bridge that we have here today.”
The new bridge not only has a sidewalk along one side of it, but is also higher than the old bridge. The old bridge had a 14-feet, 4-inch height limit for the overpass. Barnes explained the new bridge has a higher vertical clearance of 16-feet, 7.5-inches.
The new bridge was designed by a team put together by DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, Barnes said.
“We were able to design this new bridge in five months, which is about half the time.” Barnes said. “Generally it takes about 12, sometimes up to 18 months. The contractor was outstanding; our team worked very hard.”
The bridge is reopening just in time for the start of school this week, Barnes said. He explained the route is an important one used by the school district. On average, 15,000 vehicles will drive over the bridge daily.
Construction on the new bridge began in December, and accelerated when the temporary bridge was closed in June. The closure created traffic delays in and around Clifton Park and some of the surrounding areas.
“This is definitely going to ease the traffic,” Barnes said. “That’s one of the considerations we took into account; we knew we had to do this right away, we knew we had to do it quickly. We knew what the impacts were going to be.”
The Department of Transportation worked with the school districts, the Town of Clifton Park, and emergency services to determine the best way to detour traffic during the closure, Barnes said.
“The installation of a new bridge and reopening of Sitterly Road brings an end to a long and inconvenient process that began with the initial bridge strike,” Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett said in a statement. “We welcome the safe pedestrian access available on the new bridge and we appreciate the tremendous work of NYSDOT and the contractors who have been working hard to complete the job.”
While the bridge is now open to vehicles and pedestrians, the project is not entirely complete; finishing work still needs to be completed under the bridge. A closed-circuit traffic monitoring camera will also be installed to enhance safety during emergency situations to assist in identifying and clearing disruptions on I-87. The remaining work also includes shoulder reconstruction and drainage on the Northway. The DOT expects the full project to be completed in November.
“This is great news for residents and travelers most impacted in the County,” Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore Kusnierz, Jr., said in a statement. “I want to thank NYSDOT and the workers who worked diligently to build this new bridge offering motorists safe passage from Clifton Park to the Town of Halfmoon.”
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