PRATTSVILLE — State Department of Transportation officials said today they have temporarily closed the Route 23 bridge over the Schoharie Creek in Prattsville after bridge engineers found structural defects in the bridge's steel.
"The Department fully understands the inconvenience and hardship that the bridge closure will cause to the traveling public," DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald said in a news release. "Our goal is to get the bridge repaired and safely re-opened as quickly as we can."
DOT crews are conducting field analyses to determine the repair plan. A signed detour is in place, directing motorists along State Routes 23, 30 and 990V, as well as Greene County Routes 53, 7 and 39.
This is not related to last year's damage caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, officials said. Those storms caused washouts of the bridge's approaches and abutments necessitating closure. They did not affect the steel structure, they added.
DOT officials said they will provide updates as repairs progress.
