Abutment removal to close Route 334 in Mohawk Tuesday

The road closure is expected to remain in effect for around three weeks and will be limited to the immediate area of the stone abutment. A detour will be posted using Route 30A and 67.

Heather Tehan, a spokesperson for NYSDOT, said the abutment is being removed in order to increase sight distances and enhance safety for vehicles traveling on that section of Route 334.

“Now you will be able to see what is coming on either side of that curve,” Tehan said Thursday.

Details on whether the sharp curve on the state road where the abutment now stands will eventually be straightened were not immediately available.

If the road is not uncoiled, local officials are concerned the removal of the low-hanging former FJ&G railroad bridge by NYSDOT in January could lead to increased tractor-trailer traffic and new problems at the tight bend.

“I expressed my concerns with DOT when they first took the bridge out, because if the bridge is not a hindrance, there could be more truck traffic,” Montgomery County Sheriff Jeffery Smith said.

A tractor-trailer strike in December left the former railroad bridge structurally unsound. The road below it was closed until it could be removed in an emergency demolition.

The abandoned bridge with a 12-foot clearance was weakened by being struck by over-height vehicles over a dozen times since 2009.

Tractor-trailers often failed to heed the height warnings, which Smith partially attributed to drivers relying on GPS systems intended for passenger vehicles and not for commercial trucks.

Removal of the bridge has reduced incidents from trucks either striking the structure or stopping as they approach it and then having to turn around. Sheriff's deputies and state police would often be tied up dealing with either scenario and redirecting traffic until trucks could be cleared from the road.

“It definitely helped with the call volume for the tractor-trailers that were unable to make it under that bridge,” Smith said.

However, the sheriff said the bridge effectively acted as a barrier to large vehicles approaching the sharp curve they would struggle to safely navigate on the road below. Its removal has created new traffic worries.

“If trucks are coming up trying to make that swing, it’s very difficult or impossible for two vehicles to make that turn right now,” Smith said.

Mohawk Town Supervisor Janet DePalma shares those concerns, noting an incident occurred on the road just this week. State police reported a two-vehicle collision occurred on Route 334 on Wednesday afternoon. No injuries were reported.

“We’re happy on one side, because we’d like to see that cleaned up. But at the other end, for the local residents, we’re going to be mindful of the additional traffic they might see,” DePalma said. “As it stands right now, that road is not built for that. It's not really wide enough.”

Neither Smith nor DePalma are sure what to expect after the abutment is removed. They noted local officials have no control over decisions by NYSDOT involving the state road.

“I’m thankful that they’re doing something,” Smith said. “Any little bit has got to help.”

“We’ll look at where they land,” DePalma said. “If we see that something more is needed, then absolutely we would advocate for that. I prefer to see what it looks like when it’s done and take it from there.”