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Residents, historians urge preservation of Swan Hollow bridge as culvert project advances
Summary
Residents, historians and reenactor groups urged the town to pursue alternatives that would preserve a historic stone bridge near the Swan Hollow culvert, citing a pending SHPO review and potential state funding to restore the feature. Town engineers said the project is preliminary and promised public information meetings.
Residents and preservation advocates urged the Alexandria Town Board to protect a stone bridge near the proposed Swan Hollow culvert replacement, saying the structure may be historically significant and could be eligible for state restoration funds.
"We have the petition," a commenter told the board, citing signatures and support from historians, reenactor groups and a promised letter from state Sen. Mark Walczak. Darlene Sourwine, who identified herself at the meeting, described local historian interest and the community's support: "I'm Darlene Sourwine. I said, isn't that amazing bridge? Look at that bridge. Look at this." (Darlene Sourwine, Resident).
Town engineering consultant Brian Tremblay (Barton Loguidis) told the board the project remains in early study stages and said the team has begun contacting the New York State Department of Transportation and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). "We're in the very preliminary stages of we're looking at alternatives... we know it's hydraulically deficient to today's standards, and it's structurally deficient," Tremblay said, adding that SHPO would likely require archaeological surveys if the site moves forward.
Public speakers described work already done to document the bridge and said an application for historic designation had met evaluation criteria; they argued those steps could unlock grant funding to restore rather than remove the structure. Residents also reported seeing DOT trucks and some drilling or 'pinning' work on site, which raised urgency among neighbors.
Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized that no final decision has been made and that engineers will evaluate dozens of alternatives. The town committed to holding one or more public informational meetings to present alternatives and gather feedback before proceeding.
Next steps: engineers will continue coordination with DOT and SHPO, pursue archaeological and engineering studies as required, and schedule public information meetings to share proposed alternatives and timelines.
