After months of delays and revisions, the state Department of Transportation has finally signed off on the redesigned plans for the Preston Way Bridge in Mount Kisco.
Announced by the village on Wednesday, Nov. 4, the DOT’s decision cleared a crucial hurdle for the multi-million-dollar infrastructure project.
The bidding notice was published on Monday, Nov. 9. Bids must be submitted to Village Hall by 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, at which time they will be publicly opened and read aloud.
The cost of the project has been estimated at $8.6 million, but that number is several years old and village officials have emphasized that the actual numbers won’t be known until the bidding process is complete.
The village reported having secured $5 million in grants on top of the $3.6 million that it’s already borrowed.
According to Mayor J. Michael Cindrich, the state has confirmed that additional funding will be made available to the village. The exact amount has not been publicly disclosed.
The 72-year-old bridge, which links North Bedford Road (Route 117) and Kisco Avenue, carries vehicles and pedestrians over Metro-North’s Harlem railroad tracks.
Citing severe structural deterioration and traffic safety concerns following the lowering of weight capacity limits, the DOT abruptly ordered Preston Way closed on Dec. 3, 2025.
Besides the demand for a redesign of the span’s abutments and funding issues in general, complicating the situation were tussles between the village, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the state over which entity was responsible for maintenance and ownership of the bridge.
Under an agreement reached earlier this year, the MTA will cover the total cost of its “force account,” or $845,000. The term refers to the use of an agency's own internal, direct-hire labor force rather than outside private contractors, to perform capital projects, maintenance, design, construction, or inspection work.
At the Village Board’s Nov. 2 meeting, Mount Kisco consultants, AI Engineers, hit back at comments that had been made about their design’s “complexity.”
While the consultants “appreciated” the time and effort put in by the state engineers and agreed that all state and federal requirements must be satisfied, the “characterization requires complete context,” AI said in a memo dated Oct. 28.
It pointed out that the current structural approach was developed in direct response to the state DOT’s own recommendations following its March 5 determination that the previous “highly efficient GRS IBS design would not be approved.”
When the project history is considered in its entirety, the additional coordination and the time associated with the project cannot reasonably be characterized solely as a consequence of AI Engineers’ design complexity, it said.
The project presents “legitimate engineering challenges” given its location over active railroad tracks, the foundation requirements, and the constraints of the surrounding site.
AI said its engineers had “consistently responded to the directions provided, evaluated the alternatives requested, coordinated with the applicable system manufacturers, and worked to resolve the comments received.”
Its engineers have submitted all necessary documentation to the DOT for its review and final approval and clearance for public bid, AI said, adding: “Moving forward, clear, consistent direction and a shared understanding of the proposed structural design will be essential to avoiding any further redesign or unnecessary delays.”
AI asserted that it remains committed to working “collaboratively” with the village, Metro-North, and the state DOT to “move the project toward public bid and construction.”
After reading the memo, Village Manager Edward Brancati noted that he and others had felt that the previous design – approved by the DOT -- was “simpler.”
Only a few weeks later, the village got word that the bridge had to be redesigned, he said.
The DOT agrees that the resubmitted design was comprised of “standard” components “all put together,” Brancati said.
Every site has its own challenges, “but this is not the Triborough, this is not the Tappan Zee, this is not the Newburgh-Beacon. This is not the most complicated bridge,” he said, pointing out that Preston Way is simply a bridge that carries a road over railroad tracks.
“There are plenty of them around the state,” said Brancati.
“We’ve done everything they’ve (the DOT) asked and then a comment like that last week was just incredibly frustrating because there’s complexity, obviously, in everything, but it is not the most complicated or complex bridge or structure. Again, we provided them with exactly what they asked for.”
He did not say exactly where the comment had come from. The public and local businesses, however, have been riled up by the financial and traffic impacts of the bridge’s closure.
Two days later, the village announced that the redesign had been approved by the DOT.
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