Work Begins on Pool Bridge

Work is underway on a new bridge from the South Orange Middle School parking lot to the other side of the water, near the pool. As of Monday, both sides of the bridge were closed to the public, and workers had removed rails and chunks of the steps and ramps. A dumpster is in place, and areas near the bridge are fenced. However, even with such progress, the bridge won't be ready for pool season. 

The new bridge, which will cross the water slightly diagonally, similar to Jonathan’s Bridge near Floods Hill, will be fabricated elsewhere.  When it is installed, it will allow bikers and walkers to cross the water between the pool and the Middle School (SOMS) parking lot. 

The old bridge must be removed first so the area on both sides of the river can be prepared. That work will take several weeks; the pool opens in June. 

Last month, the South Orange Board of Trustees discussed whether to delay start of the construction of the bridge until after the summer, but decided to proceed despite the inconvenience to pool users because of the risk of increased construction costs or the state rescinding the grant to pay for it if they delayed.

Trustee Michael Goldberg disagreed with the rest of the board’s conclusion, stating that it was highly unlikely the village would lose the grant and the lack of a bridge during the time of year it's needed the most will be an “enormous inconvenience” to residents, especially families with young children.

“We, theoretically could go the entire pool season without a bridge,” he said. “I’m not sure why it’s so important to do it right now. Poor planning on someone’s part does not constitute an emergency on our part.”

Earlier in March, the board awarded a $403,000 contract to T. Fiotakis Construction to install a new bridge near the pool, which includes removal of the old bridge and associated work.

Some $360,000 of the cost for the bridge will be paid for by two Department of Transportation grants. Village Engineer Sal Renda noted that, once contracts are issued, that money can’t be taken away. However, a concern that unused funds might be reclaimed by the Department of Transportation moved the Village to start as soon as possible.

Renda said that the contractor was willing to delay the project but if the project began in September, work would end up getting stopped because of winter and it would probably not be finished until April and that could increase costs.

Trustee Deborah Davis Ford said she “was not willing to risk any additional expense of taxpayers’ money.”

While pool goers might be inconvenienced for a few weeks, Trustee Mark Rosner said, if the bridge were gone from September to April, others who use it would be inconvenienced a lot longer.