MTA Metro-North Railroad is refurbishing two bridges in the City of Mount Vernon this summer, one that carries cars over train tracks and one that carries train tracks over cars.

The Oak Street Bridge that carries Harlem Line trains on three tracks over Oak Street on the west side of the city is being painted and the two-lane Fourteenth Avenue Bridge carries cars over the New Haven Line in the east side of the city is getting priority structural repairs.

Portions of the Oak Street Bridge that have rusted due to water leakage will be sanded and painted. The contractor, East Coast Painting, also will paint the fascia girders and an anti-graffiti coating will be applied.  The $145,000 job is set to begin in mid-August and take two to three weeks to complete. The work will require one lane closure at a time while the girders are painted and a roadway flagman will be used. One sidewalk will be closed at a time during painting of the bearings area

The Fourteenth Avenue Bridge, which was built in 1894 and straddles four electrified (third rail) tracks, is 92-foot-long, single span, steel truss with steel floor beams and an asphalt-covered, timber deck slab. The span is supported by masonry abutments.  The sidewalks, one of asphalt and the other bare timber, are supported by cantilevered steel brackets.

Metro-North’s Structures Department will perform almost $350,000 in priority repairs to this bridge, including stabilizing the superstructure.  The road and sidewalks will be closed during the work, which is scheduled to begin August 1 and be completed by the end of September.

Signs will be posted on the bridge approaches to notify drivers of the Fourteenth Avenue Bridge closure.  Information also will be posted on the city’s website www.cmvny.com

Mayor Ernest D. Davis said, “Although the bridge closure may be an inconvenience to some, we are assured that Metro North will move as swiftly as possible to complete their work to improve the appearance and ensure safe passage for individuals crossing the bridges.”

Last year, Metro-North completed replacement of the Park Avenue Bridge at a cost of $10.5 million and invested $213,000 in repairs to the Sixth Avenue Bridge.