Department of Transportation

State Department of Transportation Announces Beginning of $2.6 Million Project to Replace Route 2 Bridge over Poesten Kill in Rensselaer County

New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez today announced that work is beginning on a $2.6 million project to replace the Route 2 bridge over the Poesten Kill in the town of Brunswick, Rensselaer County. The steel truss bridge, built in 1931, carries approximately 4,600 motor vehicles per day and is a connector for motorists linking Brunswick and central and eastern Rensselaer County with the City of Troy. 

“All across the Capital Region, DOT is making investments in projects that are vital to improving our infrastructure and the quality of life of local residents,” Commissioner Dominguez said. “This bridge is a vital link for many people, from local residents and daily users of Route 2, to visitors of Grafton Lakes State Park and those coming to and from Massachusetts. This new bridge will be a welcome enhancement to both residents and visitors alike.” 

The new bridge will have five-foot wide shoulders on both sides, wider than the current two-foot wide shoulders to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. To minimize impacts to traffic, removal of the old bridge and installation of its replacement will be staged to occur on half of the bridge’s length at a time. Work is scheduled to occur on the westbound half of the bridge this week, weather permitting, with work anticipated to switch to the eastbound side of the bridge in August. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. 

During the project, traffic will be reduced to a single alternating lane controlled by traffic signals around the clock.

Motorists are reminded to Move Over a lane, if safely possible, or slow down significantly whenever encountering roadside vehicles displaying red, white, blue, amber or green lights, including maintenance and construction vehicles in work zones.

Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones, and to drive cautiously and share the road with runners and cyclists. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.

For up-to-date travel information, call 511, visit www.511NY.org, or download the free 511NY mobile app.

Follow New York State DOT on Twitter: @NYSDOT. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/NYSDOT. For tweets from New York State DOT Region 1 (covering the Capital Region), follow @NYSDOTAlbany.

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