Rhodes Road Bridge Closed Indefinitely

 In May of this year, the Tioga County Legislators hired Delta Engineers  to perform a complete evaluation of the Rhodes Road. Bridge in Apalachin. Legislator John King reported in July that the bridge was unsafe and would be closed indefinitely, since the county has no funds to repair or replace the bridge.  At that same meeting, the County Legislators approved the spending of over 12 million dollars to construct additional county offices on Route 38.   In August, Town of Owego Highway Superintendent Dave Ferris sent a letter to Assemblyman Finch to see if there were any State or Federal money available for the Rhodes Road Bridge. Ferris then sent copies of the letter to the town board, some how the letter was leaked to the public.  

 Ferris' main concern is that of maintaining the safe flow of traffic on roads throughout the Town of Owego.  Assemblyman Finch answered that there is no funding available at this time for the project.

 At the August Town of Owego Board meeting the room was packed with residents of the Rhodes Road area. All the residents who attended the meeting were actually happy that the bridge was closed. When the bridge was open it was used as a short cut for residents of Pennsylvania to get to Route 434, avoiding the 30 MPH zone on Pennsylvania Avenue.  

 For the residents of the Rhodes Road area the closing of the bridge is a blessing, giving them peace of mind that they will not be subject to the high speed of the cars from the south.   The closing of the bridge will have little impact on other residents of the Town of Owego, except for those who used it as a short cut.

 The only concern about the closing is  how to re-route traffic when there is an emergency on Pennsylvania Avenue. Traffic will have to be re-routed to Montrose Turnpike in Owego or over to Vestal.

 The only hope is that when the bridge is finally repaired, and it will be, is that law enforcement will take care of the problem of speeding cars who use Rhodes Road as a short cut.