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ARDSLEY, N.Y. Parts of the Saw Mill River Parkway and New York State Thruway will see intermittent lane closures Thursday and Friday as officials inspect the underside of the Ashford Avenue Bridge.
Officials are conducting a follow-up inspection after pieces of concrete fell from the bridge last Friday onto the Thruway, damaging cars and closing down the bridge and roads for a few hours.
"The bridge itself is structurally sound," said Jay Pisco, Westchester County Public Works commissioner. "The job now is to make sure there is no additional concrete that could become dislodged from the bridge and put motorists at risk. We are operating from the standpoint of an abundance of caution."
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday, crews will close down one lane in each direction on the Saw Mill Parkway between the Ashford Avenue exit and the Lawrence Street exit while they inspect the underside of the bridge. Only the southbound side of the New York State Thruway will see lane closures during the inspection.
County officials encourage motorists to use alternative routes during the two-day period.
Elected officials have already called for expediting a $20 million repair project for the 62-year-old bridge. That project is scheduled to begin in March 2015.
A bridge inspection conducted in 2011 gave the Dobbs Ferry-Ardsley connection a 3.653 out of 7 rating. The bridge was described as being in a state of moderate overall deterioration.
Officials have said they're already looking taking precautionary measures such as installing netting or wood planking until the repair project begins.
Ardsley is hosting a meeting on July 11 at 2 p.m. at Village Hall to discuss long-term bridge solutions.
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