Beneath
the bridge the river flows
In
dark pools and greenish glows.
Across
its spanning brace of force
The
autos roll, and people course. |
At
the August 11 Annual Meeting
of the Friends of Beaverkill
Eric Hamerstrom reported
the long-awaited new bridge
across our river at Craigie
Claire had arrived weeks before
and been assembled, there
to lie, awkward and impotent
on the bank, awaiting the
mysterious workings of the
government genie. Thus the
stop and start history of
the structure continued unabated.
Suddenly Steve Lott learned
that a crane was to arrive
on Monday, August 27, to lift
and set the trusses the next
day. A likely story, but Sally
and I drove down to the crossing
point on Monday only to see
the Monster Crane resting
quietly next to its ungainly
burdens. Nothing would do
then but to show up with cameras,
kids, and grandkids the next
morning to see if the Lott
prophecy would be fulfilled
From
early morning until an 11:45 lunch
break for the workmen, Monster
Crane was positioned, braced,
weighted, and then hooked onto
what would become the downstream
truss, After their lunch, work
was resumed and the first truss
quickly lifted and placed gently
into the beam pockets set into
the piers and abutments built
into the banks the prior fall.
Riggers walked across the span,
bolted it in place and set up
temporary braces. The upstream
truss quickly followed. Perhaps
a dozen people watched the show,
about as many in the audience
as the actors on the stage.
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