Work begins to replace 4 I-87 bridges in New York

Work begins this week on replacing four bridges on the Adirondack Northway Interstate 87 in Clinton County as part of New York State's Scour Critical/Flood Prone Bridge Program.

As part of the program, 105 bridges will be repaired or replaced. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $518 million to fund the work through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

"Strengthening our infrastructure and making it more resilient is crucial to meeting the new challenges presented by extreme weather," Cuomo said. "By replacing these four bridges, as well as others across the state, we are making our transportation networks stronger, more reliable and more prepared for future storms."

FEMA has already approved approximately $278.4 million to fund the construction on 80 bridges, and the approval of the remaining 25 bridges is expected this spring, Cuomo said.

The two pairs of bridges being replaced in the first part of the project are on the northbound and southbound sides of I-87. Two of the bridges are over the Little Ausable River in the town of Peru, and the other set is in the town of Plattsburgh over the Salmon River.

Luck Bros, Inc., based in Plattsburgh, is the contractor for the $10.5 million project. Construction is expected to be complete in late 2016.