Broome Bridge Demolition Delayed a Year by Endangered Mussels

A bunch of mussels are preventing Broome County from removing a rusting Susquehanna River bridge that closed 35 years ago.

The county has been working a long time to clear the way for demolition of the old Center Village Bridge in the town of Colesville.

The structure was replaced with a modern bridge in 1990. For a time, pedestrians and bicyclists were allowed to cross the old span but that was stopped due to safety concerns.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar had expected the closed bridge would have been removed by now. But when mussels were discovered in the river around the site, the project was halted.

Garnar told WNBF News the state Department of Environmental Conservation required the county to develop a plan to relocate the mussels while the demolition work was underway.

The county executive said the DEC has approved the plan. That's the good news, he said. "The bad news is that we actually can't remove the mussels until 2026."

Garnar said there are environmental reasons why they can't be relocated now. He said "sometime in the spring or summer" the mussels can be moved.

After that, the bridge demolition can finally get underway. That's now scheduled between August and October of next year.

The initial cost estimate for the removal of the old structure was "a couple hundred thousand dollars." There's no word on how much the mussel moving job will add to the cost of the project.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A look back to when we first visited the "forgotten" bridge in June 2023.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.