JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Like the bridge in the neighboring hamlet of Youngsville, the bridge over Laundry Creek in Jeffersonville has been damaged by flooding numerous times over recent years. Also, as with the bridge in Youngsville, the bridge is on a special state list, and every time it rains, the state must pre-position heavy equipment near the bridge and have the bridge monitored by state personnel.

In order to have the bridge removed from that list, it will have to be rebuilt and made less prone to flooding. The New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has come up with a plan to rebuild the bridge, which it will discuss at a public hearing at the Jeffersonville Fire Department on State Route 52 on August 11 at 6:30 p.m. There will be an open house segment, along with a formal presentation, and the DOT will accept public comment.

The meeting is being held as per the policies of the state eminent domain law, because the DOT plan calls for the demolition of three buildings. One is the building known as the Blue Victorian, which for a while was an antiques store and art gallery but is now empty. The other two buildings are a bowling alley and ice cream store, which are also empty at this time. These once figured heavily in a television show called Town Haul, in which the program producers gave the town a facelift in front of TV cameras.

The plan calls for raising the bridge surface by 1.7 feet, and expanding the length of the bridge from 23 feet to just over 30 feet. The plan also calls for new sidewalks in the area and new retaining walls.