The Gowanus Bridge Fixers: Is NYC D.O.T. Thinking Of "Fixing" The Union Street Draw Bridge?

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Gowanus Canal Union Street Bridge Closure
February 20, 27 & March 6, 13, 2010
7Am-3PM

The New York City Department of Transportation Division of Bridges announced that the Union Street Draw Bridge over the Gowanus Canal will be closed during four consecutive Saturdays, starting this Saturday.
Repairs will be made to the bridge's structural grating deck.

The Union Street bridge is one of five bridges crossing the Gowanus Canal, which was once a bustling commercial waterway.

But is New York City planning on turning the "double leaf Scherzer rolling lift bascule" bridge into a fixed bridge?

Late in 2009, the US Army Corps Of Engineers contacted the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is currently deciding whether to place the dangerously polluted canal on its list of Superfund sites. The Corps informed the EPA that New York City had reached out to the Corps to share its intent to convert the Union Street Bridge from a draw bridge into a fixed one.
The Corps inquired if such a move would interfere with the E.P.A.'s efforts to clean the Gowanus Canal, should it be designated as a Superfund.

In a response, the EPA Region 2 office informed the Corps that:
"a fixed bridge would impede investigation and cleanup work that is anticipated to take place in the entire Canal over the next several years."

The Region 2 office also kindly requested the Corps to forward "for comment any formal proposal that you receive from New York City for changes on the status of this bridge or any other bridge in the Gowanus Canal."

Though there is no evidence that the upcoming work on the bridge includes the conversion to a fixed bridge, one has to wonder if these repairs will lead to that and if the work is meant to throw obstacles in the way of a thorough clean-up by the EPA. At the very least, the timing seems suspect.
The City has lobbied very hard against the EPA's Superfund designation for the canal, claiming that it can clean up the toxic waterway to the same level as the Federal Agency. That is rather unlikely.



Below are some fantastic photos of a tug boat going through the Gowanus Canal more than twenty years ago. They were taken by Phyllis Wrynn, Director of the Park Slope Gallery. I would like to thank her for sending them to me.

In background: Union Street Bridge opened to make way for tugboat

Opened Carroll Street Bridge

***UPDATE***

I just received the email below from the District Manager of Community Board 6, Craig Hammerman. Thanks for the clarification, Craig.

Hi Katia

The Department of Transportation's Division of Bridges has had a Union Street Bridge Capital project on the books for a number of years now which we were aware of through our annual budget consultation with the agency. However, the project has not been formally scoped or designed, and at last report from the department is in the City's 10-year plan for Fiscal Year 2017 construction, with an approximate budget of $26.3 million. They envision a 24-month duration project that essentially would entail a comprehensive rehabilitation of the bridge structure, operator house and bridge approaches. We have not held any meetings since the department is not ready to come to us to finalize the scope of the project.

The City must consider as part of any Bridge Rehabilitation Project the full range of alternative construction scenarios from "No Action" to "Full Replacement" to determine which approach is cost-justified and sufficient to address any known defects. One such scenario considered for all movable bridges is whether or not to convert it to a fixed bridge, given ongoing maintenance and operation costs versus existing and projected need, traffic and environmental impacts, etc.

The City alone would not be able to decide whether to change a movable bridge to a fixed bridge if it is over a navigable waterway. The City is required to get permission from the Federal government, through the U.S. Coast Guard, and would likely be required to develop a full Environmental Impact Statement as part of that process. The development of an EIS would alert the community and provide an opportunity to comment on the proposed Scope of the draft EIS as part of the permitting process.

Also, as part of the planning process, the City is required to apply for a permit from the Coast Guard to construct or reconstruct bridges over navigable waterways. As part of that process, the Coast Guard is obligated to consult with an obtain comments from any federal agency with legal jurisdiction or special expertise concerning any environmental or navigational impact involved. That's what brought the USACE and USEPA and possibly others into the picture.

(The Coast Guard Bridge Administration Division has a Bridge Permit Application Guide available on their website at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5411/BPAG_2008.pdf )

It would seem that the City was performing its due diligence in having a preliminary discussion with the Coast Guard about the range of Capital construction options and that during the consultative process that followed the Coast Guard informed the City that repurposing the Union Street Bridge from a movable to a fixed bridge was simply not an option. The matter, I'm told, had to be considered, was quickly ruled out, and is not being seriously considered.

When DOT is ready to formalize the scope of work and pursue the design for the project, they are required to consult the affected Community Board (City Charter, Section 222). We will host a presentation and discussion with them at that time, as we had previously done for the replacement of the 9^th Street Bridge and the replacement of the Hamilton Avenue Bridges.

I hope you find this helpful and that you'll update your blog to provide the additional information. Certainly, when I hear more news about this I will be sure to keep you informed!

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