Dryden awarded $3.64 million grant to repair bridges

The following is a republished press release from the Town of Dryden.

The Town of Dryden is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $3.64 million from the NY State Department of Transportation under the 2016 Bridge NY Program. The Town of Dryden and

Tompkins County will use these funds for repair and replacement of the bridges located at Freese Road over Fall Creek and South George Road over Virgil Creek. The grant applications were prepared by Highway Superintendent Richard Young and the Town Engineer T.G. Miller, in consultation with the Tompkins County Highway Department, and endorsed by Town Supervisor Jason Leifer and the rest of the Town of Dryden Town Board.

Town Supervisor Jason Leifer notes, “This funding provides nearly all of the funds that we estimated are needed to rehabilitate the South George Road Bridge and replace the Freese Road Bridge. These generous awards will save Town and County taxpayers a significant amount of money. In the Freese Road bridge application, we requested $2,824,500, and we received 95% of our funding request; and in the South George Road bridge application, we requested $1,013,250, and we received 95% of our funding request. Maintaining the Town’s infrastructure is one of the most important functions of the Town Board, and in this case, by working with the Highway Superintendent and the Tompkins County Highway Department to secure State funding, we will be able to do this in a cost-effective manner.”

The Town of Dryden is one of Tompkins County’s largest communities, with land area encompassing some 95 square miles. The Town of Dryden has the most road mileage in Tompkins County as well as a significant number of bridges. Counties are primarily responsible for bridge replacement, repair, and maintenance costs, but Towns are responsible for 20% of project costs. Dryden has a 2010 Census population of 14,435 (903 over the 2010 Census) and includes two Villages: the Village of Dryden (population 1,890) and the Village of Freeville (520). It also contains well-established hamlet areas such as Etna, Ellis Hollow, and Varna.