The Watertown Jefferson County Area Transportation Council (WJCTC) releases final recommendation from the Brownville Bridge Planning Study

WATERTOWN, NY — In late 2017, the Watertown Jefferson County Area Transportation Council (WJCTC) kicked-off a planning study exploring potential new locations for the bridge over the Black River in Brownville, NY.

In March of this year, the WJCTC accepted the final recommendation for a new bridge location, which is described in the Project Scoping Report located on the project website (more information below). The existing structure is approaching its design life and as part of the planning process, the WJCTC evaluated alternative locations for a future bridge. The WJCTC evaluated potential alternatives using a variety of screening criteria, including safety, traffic, operations, environmental impacts, potential impacts to private property, as well as opportunities to enhance regional economic development and quality of life. It was determined that the option referred to as “Alternative A” in the Project Scoping Report best meets the project objectives and evaluation criteria.

The Project Scoping Report describes the planning process and final recommendation in detail. It can be found on the WJCTC’s website:http://www.wjctc.org/projects/proposed-projects/item/14-rt-12e-brownville-black-river-bridge.html.

The technical analysis was supported by a robust public engagement process, which included door-to-door outreach to residents and businesses, stakeholder workshops, two public meetings, individual outreach with potentially impacted property owners, an online survey, and a pop-up booth at General Brown Weekend.

The project team would like to thank the community for its feedback throughout the planning process. The feedback received was a critical part of the team’s analysis.  The project team learned about the history of the existing bridge, as well as opportunities for a new bridge to serve the community for years to come.  All feedback was considered, along with technical factors, as part of the evaluation.

The project’s consulting team includes Barton & Loguidice and WSP who provided engineering and technical expertise. Highland Planning directed the public engagement process.