Video story-ribbon cutting and interview with Tim Hens/Genesee County Highway Superintendent
The S. Lyon Street bridge officially opened to traffic on June 30, 2023, with an official ribbon cutting at S. Lyon Street and S. Main Street, the same spot of a ribbon cutting in a 1957 photo provided the Genesee County Historical Department.
Representatives from Genesee County and the City of Batavia were on hand along with representatives from Union Concrete who built the new two-lane bridge and Fisher Associates who designed the project. District 9 Legislator Gary Maha was the first to drive across the bridge as the bridge is located within his district.
District 9 Legislator Gary Maha was the first to drive across the new two-lane bridge on S. Lyon Street.
A history of the bridge at S. Lyon Street/Provided by Genesee County.
• Original bridge built in 1910
• Superstructure replaced in the 1950s – this is the photo you have
• Substantial repairs were completed in 1971, deck replacement in 1980
• County crews replaced the superstructure in 1986 with a Mabey Truss – which is a “modern” version of a bailey bridge – this was meant as a temporary solution until the entire bridge superstructure and abutments could be replaced
• Originally submitted the project for consideration of federal aid in 2007. The project was removed from the funding list in 2011, put back on in 2014 and delayed due to lack of funding until the 2020 cycle. We awarded a contract for design during COVID and then had struggles with utility relocations, property acquisitions, DEC easements along the creek bank and other minor hurdles. The old bridge was rotting away with little to do to repair it based on its type of construction. The old bridge closed in 2021 after a DOT inspection before we could get the contractor in place for the new bridge. Construction started last fall and went through the winter with the Truss being set in late February.
• Total construction cost of the new bridge was $2.9 Million, made up of 80% federal aid, 15% State Aid and 5% local match. The contractor met the proposed project schedule.
• Union Concrete out of West Seneca was the contractor, Fisher Associates out of Rochester provided engineering and construction inspection