After many interruptions and delays and local complaints of inconvenience, the final asphalt was put down and the long wait is over for the Montebello Road Bridge. Now it’s off to the backroads through Suffern and Montebello once again.
The Village of Montebello announced Friday, October 30 that the bridge is open to traffic after four years of twisting and turning cost and construction issues.
Montebello Road bridge in #ramapo reopens to traffic today after more than four years. pic.twitter.com/NIJt5zAqQd
— Khurram Saeed (@ksaeed1) October 30, 2015
The 75 year-old bridge was washed out in the high waters of Tropical Storm Irene back in late August of 2011. If Irene hadn’t put the Montebello Bridge out of commission, the state of New York had the bridge targeted due to its deteriorating condition — mainly due to old footings.
The bridge is ready to be opened…
Posted by The Village of Montebello on Friday, October 30, 2015
The new bridge span features steel pilings, the better to withstand watery torrents, and has kept that stony historical look from the 1936 original, which was constructed during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration, according to Montebello historian Craig Long.
Rockland County applied for FEMA funds to help cover the cost of the new bridge construction.
County officials projected the new bridge cost $3.8 million.
