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The dispute between municipalities began soon after the commencement of a $4.54 million project meant to replace the Waverly Avenue Bridge over the Sheldrake River in Mamaroneck, which was identified as structurally deficient by the New York State Department of Transportation.
After the project was started on Friday, Oct. 20 with the installment of barricades to close the bridge to traffic, the Village of Mamaroneck removed the barricades without permission of the Town of Mamaroneck and reopened the bridge on Wednesday, Oct. 25, according to Town officials.
Soon after this, Village officials then demanded that the Town pay $728,000 in funding for police overtime for traffic control at the bridge, which Town officials said was "out of line and unjustified," and would place a burden on taxpayers.
Village officials such as Mayor Tom Murphy have since defended this demand, saying that the closure has caused unsafe traffic backups and that funding for a police detail should have been the responsibility of the town from the start. Attempts to negotiate a solution have not yet been successful, according to both Town and Village officials.
The effort has also been complicated by Village Manager Jerry Barberio's alleged refusal to attend meetings regarding the conflict, according to the Town of Mamaroneck.
Because the bridge replacement project is now at a standstill, the Town of Mamaroneck conducted an updated engineering inspection of the bridge out of concern for public safety on Friday, Nov. 3. This inspection confirmed that one of the structure's guardrails is "severely deficient" and would not withstand impact from a car, officials said.
As a result of this finding, the town will now be implementing a recommendation from the structural engineer, which may include "further restriction of traffic flow across the bridge to protect the traveling public from the deficient guiderail," according to Town of Mamaroneck officials.
Additionally, the immediate inspection of the bridge has incurred additional costs for taxpayers because it was not planned as part of the original reconstruction project, officials said. The exact cost was not revealed by officials.
"Had the bridge remained closed, the Town could have avoided the unnecessary expense, which will now be borne by the taxpayers of both Villages and the unincorporated part of the Town," Town of Mamaroneck officials said in a statement on Monday, Nov. 6.
In an earlier statement, Murphy had said the closure was made necessary to protect residents' safety without a funded police detail for traffic control.
"The Village could not in good conscience leave the bridge open and put the safety of our children walking to school, other pedestrians and motorists in jeopardy," Murphy had said.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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