Last fall we reported on Sis D’Angelo’s remarks at a City Council meeting about the poor condition of the footbridge that spanned the small stream that feeds into the Blind Brook by the Milton Road cemetery.
Last fall we reported on Sis D’Angelo’s remarks at a City Council meeting about the poor condition of the footbridge that spanned the small stream that feeds into the Blind Brook by the Milton Road cemetery.
The bridge was in disrepair, and it had been closed to the public for several years.
She urged the City to repair the bridge, which had historic and practical value.
The bridge had been built at the same time that the longer footbridge across the brook was constructed. They both featured a rustic, stone design, in keeping with the historic character of Milton. The bridges provided access to the Milton and Purdy cemeteries.
A few years later the Knapp House, Bird Homestead, and the chapel/meeting house were added to this de facto historic district. The two bridges made it easy for people wanting to walk to or from Disbrow Park to get there more quickly and safely.
Back in 2010 it was estimated that it would cost close to $40,000 to do the restoration.
By the fall of 2014 City Engineer Ryan Coyne said that the City had no plans to restore the bridge, although it was listed among the City’s possible capital improvement projects. Near the end of 2014, the bridge was completely demolished, as the City felt it was a safety hazard.
When the proposed 2015 capital budget was released, however, the bridge restoration was not on the list of projects for the year. Then this spring the DPW removed the stones from the path that leads from Milton Road to the bridge site, and some of the stones from the torn down bridge site toward the Blind Brook footbridge, as well. They re-graded the land, added topsoil, and planted grass seed.
When questioned by The Rye Record as to the possibility that a new stone path would be laid down in order to connect the Blind Brook footbridge directly to the Milton Road sidewalk, the DPW crew on the job said that they didn’t know what the plan was.
A later email discussion with Mr. Coyne yielded this comment: “The stones that were removed will be kept and can be reused in the future if it is decided to install a new pathway.”
— Bill Lawyer
