After nearly two years, Fairport's lift bridge to reopen

Nearly two years after vehicles and pedestrians last crossed the Fairport lift bridge, the  the historic bowstring truss bridge is finally set to reopen.

The Fairport Office of Community and Economic Development on Monday announced a ribbon-cutting ceremony to reopen the lift bridge  at 11 a.m. Friday.

New York Department of Transportation spokesman Jordan Guerrein confirmed the news midday Monday, and said that the bridge would reopen after Friday's ceremony at Kennelley Park. The village park is located just south of the bridge.

The Main Street (Route 250) lift bridge is the main arterial in and out of town and a crucial span over the Erie Canal that connects the village’s north and south.

The 107-year-old bridge closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in September 2019. The bridge was closed for roughly 22 months as state DOT crews could replace the flooring, update the lifting mechanisms and control tower of the bridge.

The $16.8 million rehabilitation project was initially expected to take up to 15 months, but was ultimately delayed three times due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. Initially, the bridge was expected to reopen in late 2020, but officials last fall announced that the reopening would be delayed a few months — until February. Earlier this year, the reopening date was again pushed back — this time to April.

Each time, it was said, that the lag in manufacturing some of the bridge's specialized and unique components slowed the process, caused the months-long delay.

More:Spanning the centuries: Fairport lift bridge connects to past on the Erie Canal

Prior to this extensive overhaul, Fairport's lift bridge was previously rehabilitated in 1986 and closed temporarily for repairs in 2006 and 2013.

The DOT website lists the project's "estimated substantial completion date" in mid-July, but it did not specify when the bridge will reopen. (DOT officials have repeatedly said that additional work to complete the project will take place after the bridge reopens to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.)

The 139-foot-long lift bridge  has an irregular, 10-sided design in which every angle is unique and without any square corners on the bridge floor.

The Spencerport lift bridge, which closed in July 2019 for repairs as part of the same DOT project, reopened to vehicular traffic in late 2020. 

Contact Victoria Freile at vfreile@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @vfreile and Instagram @vfreile. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.