Engineering firm B&L will begin work on possible solution to Bayard St. culvert

The closure of a portion of West Bayard Street due to a crumbling culvert was a major topic at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.

The board ended up voting unanimously to direct town engineers Barton & Loguidice to begin to work on a possible solution and represent the town’s interests in a dispute over whether the town or the state is responsible for fixing the problem.

The section from Ovid to Bridge street has been closed to through traffic since Aug. 29 after state officials discovered that the 100-year-old culvert under the roadway taking water from a pond on the south side to the Cayuga-Seneca Canal on the north side was deteriorating and posed a threat of a roadway collapse.

A telephone conference call Wednesday between town and state Canal Corporation officials could shed more light on the situation.

The discussion began with comments from resident Mary Grace of 10 Barker St. Barker Street has become a main detour route around the closed-off section of West Bayard.

“My neighbors and I are affected by the detoured traffic to the point where it’s a safety issue,” Grace said. She said Barker is normally a quiet, narrow street that has seen trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, school buses and many other vehicles using it, nearly causing at least two accidents.