New York, Westchester & Boston NYW&B Highbrook Bridge

-Highbrook Ave. Bridge Pelham ---- update.

-There will be a hearing on the future -- restoration or demolition -- of the NYW&B Highbrook Avenue concrete arch bridge in Pelham, It will be Thursday, April 29th, 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 195 Sparks Avenue, Pelham NY 10803. Trustee Joe Marty will take information and statements. Opinion is very divided in the village -- it could go either way.

-anyone who would like to support preserving the NYW&B bridge as an historical landmark set in a neighborhood park should express themselves to the village.

contact Trustee Joe Marty
Village of Pelham
195 Sparks Avenue
Pelham NY 10803

Roger Wines

-more on the Highbrook Ave. Bridge:

-there is an interesting technical analysis of the construction and condition of the NYW&B bridge posted this week by the Village of Pelham on its site pelhamgov.com

-Berger-Lehmann Associates: Inspection, Testing and Assessment of the Highbrook Avenue New York Westchester and Boston Railway Bridge. (February 2001)

-see http://www.pelhamgov.com/BW%20Bridge%20Report.pdf

Roger Wines

As reference, here is a picture showing the current state of the bridge. Hopefully it will be fully restored to a new usage that will serve the adjoining community.

-Hi -

Pelham Village has an engineer's report that it will cost $2.2 million to restore the bridge and $700.000 to tear it down. If they tear it down, people are talking about selling the land on the west side of the street for two (taxable) house sites, and spending money (unspecified) to develop a neighborhood park on the east side, where the bridge abutments and ROW embankment now stand. That's a lot of money for a small village like Pelham, and there do not seem to be any preservation grants in sight. Some restoration projects produce profitable new uses for the property or building -- this one looks as if it will cost big bucks either way.

Roger

--The above engineer's report concludes that it will cost $2,200,000.00 to restore the bridge, and $700,000 to tear it down. Both estimates have been questioned. If demolished, it has been proposed to build two (taxable) houses on the west side of the street, and a neighborhood park on the east side, where the abutment and ROW embankment now stand. The cost of retaining walls and facilities for the park has not yet been determined. If they take down the bridge they lose one third of the proposed parkland, and the opportunity to build a "high park", a unique design. In any event, the remaining ballast and subsoil has environmental pollution (oil & creosote??) and needs to be removed and replaced. At the present time, there are no public or private grants in sight.
This all adds up to a lot of money for a small village such as Pelham. It will go right onto property tax bills, and some people are already struggling to pay $ 15,000--20,000 a year tax bills.
-- The village residents are very divided on this issue, as you might expect.


Roger

Pelham is hellbent to get rid of that bridge!

I have mixed feelings; in tight economic times, it's hard to justify maintaining a bridge which serves no purpose. On the other hand, in an almost fully developed lower Westchester, open space is hard to come by. Sometimes "pocket parks" are the only way to do it.

On an NYW&B bridge-related note, does the overpass that carried the Hutch over the ROW (just south/west of Weaver St), in Scarsdale, still exist? Or was the filled in during the rebuild years ago?

Edited for grammar by author (are for is).

Sarge -

The overpass that carried the Hutch over the ROW is long gone...it was removed entirely many years ago...

...concerning the Highbrook Avenue bridge...my vote is for preservation, now and forever...however, I cannot imagine taxpayers allocating one dime for restoration…indeed, my best guess is this same crowd would scoff on footing the bill for the “cheaper” alternative of demolition...

Thanks, I thought so. It would be nice for the bridge to be preserved, but with NYS essentially bankrupt Pelham would be on its own with the bridge and converting it to a pocket park. I think the status quo is likely to be maintained; demolition might not even be in the budget. I think the economics of the situation dictate that; who pays the demolition and in exchange for what? Yes, a couple of houses in this area might be worth a million or two.

Another NYW&B structure threatened by the very development the railroad spawned ...wonder if there would really be interest in a, uhm, "Walkway Over Highbrook Avenue" linear park?

Sarge wrote:I have mixed feelings; in tight economic times, it's hard to justify maintaining a bridge which serves no purpose. On the other hand, in an almost fully developed lower Westchester, open space is hard to come by. Sometimes "pocket parks" is the only way to do it.

As far as I am concerned, the bridge does not need $2 million worth of work to maintain the status quo. The bridge is not in danger of falling down, it is not derelict. If they are willing to spend $700,000 on demolition (I would at least double that figure), they should be able to find money to restore the surface finish.

Perhaps Pelham is trying to devalue the neighborhood in an attempt to make additional land grabs and build more McMansions that will have higher tax values than the current properties there?

It's the only surviving NYW&B bridge in the county. It's worth saving.

Otto Vondrak wrote:

Sarge wrote:I have mixed feelings; in tight economic times, it's hard to justify maintaining a bridge which serves no purpose. On the other hand, in an almost fully developed lower Westchester, open space is hard to come by. Sometimes "pocket parks" are the only way to do it.

As far as I am concerned, the bridge does not need $2 million worth of work to maintain the status quo. The bridge is not in danger of falling down, it is not derelict. If they are willing to spend $700,000 on demolition (I would at least double that figure), they should be able to find money to restore the surface finish.

Perhaps Pelham is trying to devalue the neighborhood in an attempt to make additional land grabs and build more McMansions that will have higher tax values than the current properties there?

It's the only surviving NYW&B bridge in the county. It's worth saving.

Is it true it's the only remaining bridge? You must mean it's the only railroad overpass, right? There are still road overpasses like North Av (with it's underground station), Heathcote at the end of Weaver St, Bryant Av, Ridgweay, etc.?

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you on saving the bridge, for some of the same reasons. It's as if it were hallowed railroad ground.

I don't necessarily think it's a land grab; Pelham is grappling with a situation many communites are; higher costs and lower revenue. Make of that situation what you will, but they were probably approached by a developer and they have a fiduciary duty to taxpayers to see what the benefit is. But let's face it; a pocket park on the last bridge of the NYW&B may be nice, and I would prefer that, but would it get a lot of use? That's like my dream of restoring service "around the horn", or to Ridgefield, or Hopewell Junction, or, more on point, extending the Dyre Av line a mile or so into Mt. Vernon, etc., etc.

I also agree with you on the stated costs; it always amazes me how difficult and expensive it is to tear something down these days. I can't imagine that it would cost 700k to tear down that bridge; to me it would take one day and a wrecking ball. That costs $700k? I suppose that's what it's come down to, and your surmise it would cost more is just as likely as mine that it shouldn't cost nearly as much (we could try a couple M80's inserted into cracks in the concrete; just kidding). Restoration and maintenance costs may be overstated, too, but you are dealing with probably a requirement for a contractor with union employees and a high cost concrete industry.

Lastly, my bet is we end up with almost the status quo; repairs necessary to prevent the further deterioration of the structure, but not restoration. I just have a hard time with the economics of the doing something with the bridge. I don't remember how many homes were planned (I think that's in another thread), but you have to factor in the demo cost into the return on the new homes. What is the value of the acreage to be gained for development?

Hi Sarge –

Allow me to supply a few corrections, if I may…

“There are still road overpasses like North Ave (with its underground station)”
Nope, afraid not…the original ROW was replaced by highway access ramp decades ago at North Avenue...and there was never an underground station there - perhaps you are thinking of Wykagyl?

“Heathcote at the end of Weaver St”
Weaver Street does not end (or start) at Heathcote.
The Wilmont Road bridge remains, but the original steel was replaced by a concrete span years ago…however, the original NYW&BR concrete retaining walls remain…
The original steel structure of the Heathcote Road bridge, along with a builder’s plate dated 1912 (visible from below), remains to this day!

Bryant Av
Yes indeed, the short Bryant Ave “overpass” (spanning the remains of a deep cut) is still there…

Ridgweay, etc.?
There is no "road overpass" of the NYW&BR ROW at Ridgeway…in fact, it was the other way around…the NYW&BR ROW originally crossed Ridgway courtesy of a bridge - perhaps you are thinking of Gedney Way?

Finally, it would be real fine with me if the entire line was put back in good working order, just as it was in ancient times...

Sarge wrote:Is it true it's the only remaining bridge? You must mean it's the only railroad overpass, right??

If there is another bridge that carried the NYW&B over anything in Westchester County, I don't know about it. I do not count drainage culverts. All the other railroad bridges in Westchester County were made of steel that was harvested in 1942 for the War effort.

-otto-

nyw&br wrote:Hi Sarge –

Allow me to supply a few corrections, if I may…

“There are still road overpasses like North Ave (with its underground station)”
Nope, afraid not…the original ROW was replaced by highway access ramp decades ago at North Avenue...and there was never an underground station there - perhaps you are thinking of Wykagyl?

Yes, I misspoke, I meant Wykagyl. That is North Ave though, isn't it?

“Heathcote at the end of Weaver St”
Weaver Street does not end (or start) at Heathcote.
The Wilmont Road bridge remains, but the original steel was replaced by a concrete span years ago…however, the original NYW&BR concrete retaining walls remain…
The original steel structure of the Heathcote Road bridge, along with a builder’s plate dated 1912 (visible from below), remains to this day!

Another misspeak. At this rate, I'll have my alias revoked on RR.net! When I wrote that, I wasn't sure if Weaver ended there or continued to White Plains Rd. I drove that many times back in the day, and must have confused it with Fenimore Rd which changes to Griffin at the Scarsdale border with Mamaroneck.

Bryant Av
Yes indeed, the short Bryant Ave “overpass” (spanning the remains of a deep cut) is still there…

Hey, I got one right! It doesn't last long, though....

Ridgweay, etc.?
There is no "road overpass" of the NYW&BR ROW at Ridgeway…in fact, it was the other way around…the NYW&BR ROW originally crossed Ridgway courtesy of a bridge - perhaps you are thinking of Gedney Way?

Again, you are correct in what I was thinking. I went a little too far down Google Maps. Yes, I actually looked at a map and STILL got it wrong.

Finally, it would be real fine with me if the entire line was put back in good working order, just as it was in ancient times...

Amen, brother. With a little imagination and a lot of delusion, we could do just that! A little LRT along Bloomingdale Rd to the old ROW betwixt the Mamaroneck's (Old Mam'k Rd and Mam'k Av) along the Heathcote Bypass, a flyover to Stratton Rd (I think there's a NYW&B relic retaining wall there by the firehouse, right?) and Pinebrook Blvd, and thence down to Quaker Ridge Rd, and then on down to Hugenot St; a, but to dream! If only someone had had the foresight; can you imagine the number of cars of the road between New Rochelle and WP?

Excuse me, I have to go to the men's room and wipe the foam off my face.