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City to inspect South Washington Street pedestrian bridge before 'Blues on the Bridge' event
Summary
Assistant city engineer Franco asked council to authorize a LaBella inspection and load rating for the South Washington Street pedestrian bridge (not on NYSDOT routes); the work — starting with a drone assessment and followed by hands-on inspection if needed — is scheduled ahead of a planned concert event and the city will place the bridge on a five-year inspection cycle.
The city presented an ordinance to authorize an inspection and load rating of the South Washington Street pedestrian bridge and to contract with LaBella for that work.
Franco, the assistant city engineer, said the pedestrian bridge had not been inspected in more than 11 years because it is not on state inspection routes. He told council the city solicited four firms and LaBella was the only firm able to meet the expedited timeline prior to a scheduled "Blues on the Bridge" event, so the proposed contract covers a drone-mounted camera inspection and downstream hands-on work if deficiencies are discovered. "I would probably say at least every 5 years," Franco said when asked about inspection frequency.
Council members asked whether the city was paying a premium to meet the event timeline; Franco said he could not confirm pricing differences and that LaBella's fee appeared to be a going rate, noting the quoted total cost of about $31,000 in the packet. The council voted to expedite consideration to ensure the inspection is completed before the public event; the roll-call expedite motion passed 5–0.
Staff said the department will include the bridge in a regular inspection schedule going forward and can make inspection schedules available to council on a recurring basis.
