Brewerton bridge closure has village neighbors speaking up about traffic concerns

BREWERTON, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Brewerton bridge, in the heart of the village, gets a lot of daily traffic. Peter Butkins uses it every day to get to work, but it has been taking longer for him to get there because of construction on the bridge.

“If you catch it at a certain hour, it’s quite a nuisance to sit in traffic or navigate the construction or the workers,” Butkins said.

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The Brewerton bridge will fully close for construction and to the west, a temporary one lane bridge will be going up. Neighbors worry this will cause traffic problems throughout town.

“We experienced a single lane usage a month and a half ago, and it tied traffic up in all directions,” said Matt McGill, the owner of Matt McGill Collision on Route 11.

McGill needs to send out tow trucks when accidents happen.

“911 expects me on the scene when I get the call in 15 minutes,” he said. “I’ll be 15 minutes getting out of the driveway, let alone navigating the traffic.”

So, he came up with his own solution — using the access road next to Central Square Middle School. It goes through the unfinished racetrack and to a closed rest stop.

“It ties Route 11 to Interstate 81. That way the traffic won’t be at a standstill. It would flow,” McGill said. “It would get us over the bridge, over the river on 81.”

And it’s a plan people can get behind.

“It’s a lot simpler. It’s already been pre-worked and designed,” Butkins said. “It will make a lot more sense than narrowing this down to one lane.”

The New York State Department of Transportation is in charge of the project. They sent NewsChannel 9 the statement below:

“The New York State Department of Transportation is committed to engaging with the community to minimize disruptions as we soon begin a project to replace the U.S. Route 11 bridge over the Oneida River, which will enhance safety and improve mobility for all users – including pedestrians and cyclists – along an important travel corridor. NYSDOT will keep the community informed of further developments and we appreciate the public’s patience during this upcoming project.”

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