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Committee amends resolution to replace, not remove, Basin Road rail bridge; clarifies study does not cover crossing
Summary
The committee amended Resolution 451 to replace the rail bridge over Basin Road on the Ulster & Delaware Corridor with an AASHTO-compliant active transportation bridge; members said the UND corridor study does not include the Basin Road crossing and DEP would not permit rail across Basin Road.
The Ulster County Housing & Transportation Committee voted Dec. 4 to amend and approve Resolution 451 to authorize replacement of the railroad bridge over Basin Road on the Ulster & Delaware (UND) Corridor. The sponsor's amendment replaces language that previously said "remove" with "replace," clarifying the county's intent to provide an AASHTO-compliant active transportation bridge rather than permanently remove the span.
The committee chair explained the change was intended "to make it clear that we are not removing the bridge and leaving it removed, we are replacing the bridge with an active transportation bridge," and said that other clauses referencing track removal were deleted because no track would be removed in this work.
Members asked whether the ongoing UND corridor study covered the Basin Road bridge. The chair and staff clarified that the corridor study does not cross Basin Road and therefore does not address a bridge replacement at that location; the study examines the corridor up to the west side of Basin Road. Committee discussion also referenced communications with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, with a committee member reporting they did not expect DEP to permit rail to cross Basin Road onto DEP property.
Counsel's legal summary, as cited in committee discussion, noted that the county currently faces liability exposure related to the bridge and that the proposed replacement does not conflict with the county's railroad-trail policy as presented. Following motion and a second, the committee approved the amended resolution by voice vote.
The committee directed that the replacement bridge be designed to AASHTO standards for active transportation (including a minimum 10-foot width) and removed a previously included two-year reinstallation timeframe from the draft. The transcript records the committee's approvals by voice vote; it does not include a roll-call tally.
