Mount Kisco, MTA in talks over cost-sharing for Preston Way Bridge replacement

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Mount Kisco officials have been meeting with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the hopes of working out an agreement on the sharing of costs of replacing the Preston Way Bridge, the village announced recently.

The 72-year-old span that links Kisco Avenue with Route 117 was ordered closed for critical safety reasons by the state Department of Transportation with only a few hours’ notice on Dec. 3.

Although specific structural issues have yet to be publicly disclosed, it is known that the DOT drastically reduced the bridge’s load capacity to just a few tons, making it unsafe for public use.

As of this writing, pedestrian and bike traffic was also banned.

The resulting detours and traffic snarls have frustrated motorists, worried local business owners, and spurred calls for better communication on the village’s part, including regular progress reports.

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, the village posted an update on its Facebook page, alerting folks to the fact that the previous Friday, state Sen. Peter Harckham (D-40th District) had organized a sit-down between Mayor J. Michael Cindrich, Village Manager Ed Brancati, and representatives of the DOT and MTA.

Also taking part in the meeting were Westchester County Legislator Erika Pierce and staff members from the offices of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, Congressman Michael Lawler, and state Assemblyman Chris Burdick.

Pierce, a Katonah resident, represents District 2.

In a social media post she spoke about the meeting and said she was grateful to Harckham "for bringing everyone to the table, and to everyone's willingness to roll up their sleeves."

Central to the current commotion is the question of who owns the bridge.

Brancati contends that no records have been found that establish that the village is the owner and would, therefore, be tagged with footing the full cost of the approximate $8.6 million project.

“The MTA or DOT would love to tell you that we own the bridge, but we don’t,” Brancati said at the Village Board’s Jan. 5 meeting.  “Nobody can prove that; that’s just a fact.”

If the MTA has stated that the village owns the bridge, it is basing it on a bridge inventory spreadsheet provided by the DOT, Brancati explained.

The DOT listed Mount Kisco as the owner because, he explained, “inspection reports have to go to somebody responsible, so the default is to list the community in which the structure is located, but that’s no indication of who owns it.”

According to the Jan. 14 post, the “next step” is to put together a “working agreement” between the village and the MTA by Friday, Jan. 30, so that board trustees have something to consider at their Monday, Feb. 2 meeting.

If approved, this agreement would meet DOT requirements and would allow the village to go out to bid for the bridge replacement project, according to the village.

“This agreement will confirm that the MTA is responsible for covering the total cost of their Force Account for this project which represents $845,000 of the total current cost estimate to replace the bridge and clearly delineate(s) maintenance responsibilities after the new bridge is constructed,” the post read.

(Federal rules and regulations require anyone working near, on, over, or adjacent to railroad facilities to put money into a “forced labor” account that covers the hiring of flaggers, inspectors, and so forth, who “make sure that the tracks, the travelers are safe,” Brancati has said.)

The post emphasized that going out to bid would be a “key milestone” for the project “as the true cost to replace the bridge is still unknown, and all parties involved cannot plan accordingly until such a number is identified.”