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Rt. 23 bridge closed in Prattsville
Sep 11, 2012 12:17 am
[caption id="attachment_22763" align="alignright" width="240"] Image from 511.[/caption]At midnight Tue., Sept. 11, the Department of Transportation closed the Rt. 23 bridge over the Schoharie creek in Prattsville after they found a fracture Mon., Sept. 10 while sandblasting. "We were told it is a critical fracture and could cause the bridge to fail at anytime," the Prattsville Hose Company posted on its Facebook page. The bridge was damaged in the floods surrounding Hurricane Irene a year ago. Route 23 is closed at the Town of Prattsville/Town of Ashland line. The NYS DOT's 511 map of traffic and transit information announced the Prattsville bridge closure at 12:35 a.m., after it was widely announced on social media. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Fri., Sept. 7 that the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) received two Best of New York awards from the Center for Digital Government – the Most Innovative Use of Social Media award and the Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management award – for the Department’s 511NY traffic conditions notification system. But the 511 map was widely criticized as inaccurate after the floods surrounding Hurricane Irene in our area last year. WGXC's Dharma Dailey surveryed many members of the local media about the map, and many said they found the 511 map "useless." A Columbia County man, Don Meltz, created his own map that was shared among the local media through The Watershed Post that all agreed contained better information. The DOT suggest motorists use Prattsville-Gilboa Road, Prattsville Road, 990V, and Route 30 to get around the bridge closure "until further notice."