Any construction through an old section of Troy will find underground “treasures”. The current work on Main Street matches up with previous roadway sections, dating from Troy's founding up through the present day. Numerous utility lines, some of them very old, have been uncovered as work continues on West Main. As expected, some of these utilities are so old that there are no records of how or when they were built. However, the past week brought an even bigger surprise.
The remnants of an old bridge were uncovered on the north side of Main Street just west of Adams Street. The bridge's metal girders were built by the riveting process, which gives an idea of the age of the structure. The bridge appears to have been built over the Miami Erie Canal. When the canal was no longer in use, this structure was demolished on the spot, broken up, and buried with tons and tons of concrete under a new paver-block road. Concrete must have been very inexpensive at the time, as evidenced by the massive amount of concrete used to stabilize the ground where the bridge was buried!
Some unique items were pulled from the ground and salvaged. Although there are no records of this bridge in any known archives, it appears that this structure was a type of lift bridge over the canal. As a result of this unique find, the storm sewer operations were halted for several days while technicians broke up tons and tons of concrete. Options were explored to possibly re-route the storm sewers in this area, but because of the critical need to keep the gravity flow of the sewer and the limited right-of-way in the area, there was not a cost-effective means to change the flow pattern.
Despite this item and other unforeseen issues, the project has progressed as expected. Approximately $1.5 million in construction has been completed since the start of operations in July.
Thanks again for the understanding of travelers, residents, and businesses affected by the shifting traffic, noise, and dust which is part of the construction!