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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 17-62
July 19, 2017
deppressoffice@dep.nyc.gov, (845) 334-7868

NYC DEP Opens Dividing Weir Bridge to Two Lanes of Traffic at Ashokan Reservoir

16-ton weight limit remains in place for vehicles traveling across the bridge

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced the completion of repairs at the Dividing Weir Bridge, which is now reopen to two lanes of traffic for the first time since 2015. The bridge, which carries Reservoir Road over Ashokan Reservoir in the Town of Olive, had been limited to one lane of traffic while work crews rehabilitated its concrete support arches. A 16-ton weight limit will continue at the Dividing Weir Bridge.

DEP began repairs at the Dividing Weir Bridge in February 2015. At the time, engineers expected it would take approximately eight months to remove and replace concrete that had splintered on the bridge’s support arches due to a century of freezing and thawing. However, work crews found additional damaged concrete as they began to work on the underside of the bridge. Workers ultimately replaced five times the amount of concrete that was anticipated when the project began. The finished repair cost approximately $5 million.

DEP removed temporary traffic signals and signs from the Dividing Weir Bridge on Wednesday morning, officially reopening both lanes. A new Dividing Weir Bridge is scheduled to be designed and constructed over the next decade. DEP owns, operates and maintains 57 bridges and 99 miles of roads in the watershed.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.5 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $166 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with $20.7 billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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