By JEFF MORRIS
There is a 120-year-old bridge over the Muscoot Reservoir in Katonah that at one time was a key artery leading to the train station and downtown. Yet many people may not even be aware of its existence.
Now, it sits, blocked at both ends — abandoned, rusting, largely obscured by overgrown foliage — and slated for demolition.
Known as the Lakeside Road Bridge, it was called “a rare example of a small-scale deck arch bridge” that is “complimented by handsome railing and abutments” by the volunteer advocacy organization HistoricBridges.org, which says it was constructed in 1904.
Lakeside Road, however, is long gone, now existing only as a portion of the Jay Street commuter parking lot. Most recently, the bridge provided access to the northern end of the lot from the entrance ramp leading from Route 35 to the Saw Mill River Parkway and Interstate 684. But due to its deteriorating structural condition, it was closed sometime in the 1990s.
Now owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the bridge became a key part of a proposal floated by state Assemblymember Chris Burdick, with its origins back when he was still Bedford town supervisor. Burdick had hoped that the bridge could be replaced and used for two-way traffic into and out of the Jay Street lot, with direct connections to and from Route 35, and that a new parking garage would be constructed at the northern end of the lot to accommodate additional commuter and shopper parking.
That proposal, which emerged in December 2019 during a public workshop session at Bedford Town Hall conducted by the state Department of Transportation as part of its 684/84 Corridor Study, resurfaced in 2021 when the DOT issued its pandemic-delayed findings. Their report included an endorsement of the bridge replacement plan, alongside proposals to either fully or partially reconstruct the interchange between I-684, the Saw Mill River Parkway and Route 35.
Speaking with The Recorder this week, Burdick acknowledged that the DOT report, though issued in 2021, did not fully acknowledge the lasting impact that the pandemic would have.
There have been some intervening events,” he said. “Since the pandemic, Metro-North ridership has plummeted. It has recovered somewhat, but not to pre-pandemic levels.” He noted that before the pandemic, the lot was “filled to the gills; the town had to turn away permit applicants. But the world has changed.”
Even without the need for a parking garage, Burdick said he still thought that a direct connection to the lot from Route 35 made sense. “While the need for a parking garage has vanished and will never return, the benefit of having a direct connection still exists,” he said.
In July 2020, then-county legislator Kitley Covill reported that Metro-North had completed work on upgrading the Jay Street grade crossing, including relocating power and signal equipment to make way for a future pedestrian space on the north side of the crossing. Temporary barriers are still in place at that location, in anticipation of a reconfiguration of the Jay Street lot entrance — work that has not commenced, and is largely tied to the possibility of diverting traffic to a second entry point, which would be a reconstructed bridge from Route 35.
Besides endorsing a replacement for the Lakeside Road Bridge and proposing reconstruction and expansion of the Katonah I-684 interchange, a main component of the DOT study was a proposal to fully reconstruct the existing Brewster interchange to provide high-speed direct connections between I-684 and I-84. That is a key bottleneck where traffic often backs up, leading to drivers seeking alternative routes via local roads.
“If I had to identify what would be the highest priority for the state, it would be the intersection of 684 and 84,” said Burdick. “A close second would be the 35-Saw Mill-684 intersection.”
But whether there will be funding available for overall 684 corridor improvements is now uncertain. “A presidential election has intervened,” Burdick noted. “Federal dollars comprise the greatest part of any interstate highway project.” He said traditionally there has been bipartisan support for such projects, and that then-congressman Sean Patrick Maloney had said there was major agreement on the need for the work.
“We did make significant progress on providing a starting point,” said Burdick. “There is commonality between the municipalities and the state DOT, and major projects take a long time to come to fruition. But once they come together, there is momentum.”
According to Burdick, it was North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas who, frustrated with the proliferation of vehicles using local roads to avoid traffic backups on I-684, “took the lead on pushing for 684 corridor improvements years ago, and has provided that momentum. So we’re not starting at zero.”
“Congestion is down but it still very much exists,” said Burdick. “That’s the reason why I think it still makes sense for at least some of those projects to move forward. The planning that took place provided a number of different options, but we don’t know where it will go from here.”
In its profile of the Lakeside Road bridge five years ago, HistoricBridges.org said, “This bridge’s future is at risk! The bridge is, as of 2020, at risk for demolition with no replacement. This is disappointing. The bridge should be preserved in place or relocated and preserved elsewhere.”
That appears to be unlikely. In May 2022, EnTech Engineering, a New York-based firm, reported it had been contracted by NYCDEP to provide design services during construction, environmental permitting, hazardous materials surveys, and soil investigations for the demolition of three bridges “located within the Croton Watershed area of Westchester County due to the poor condition of their existing superstructure, low road ratings, and substandard features.” One of the three is the Lakeside Road Bridge in Katonah. “Currently, EnTech is working with the design team and NYCDEP to obtain the final permits prior to construction in the Fall of 2023,” said the firm. Demolition has still not begun.