Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders providing information on Chadakoin River work to City Council (March 27, 2023)

Work to remove debris in the Chadakoin River Basin is expected to begin in April.

Jamestown City Council approved an allocation by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation of $327,925 in American Rescue Plan funds to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. These funds are in addition to $35,000 approved by the JLDC board to CWC for work on the Chadakoin River.

CWC Conservation Director Twan Leenders said there are three projects that the funding will be used for, with the first being the debris removal, “It has a number of verticle stumps and all kinds of debris that has accumulated over the decades in there. Two of the different projects involve clearing that out as soon as possible. I just had a meeting yesterday with the DEC and we have the greenlight to actually go ahead with those as soon as possible.”

Leenders said that work will make the basin safe for boaters and other recreation activities. He anticipates starting that work the beginning of April.

Leenders said other projects on the Chadakoin River involves bank restoration on the north shore of the basin as well as both the north and south shores between the Warner Dam and Main Street Bridge, “Those three sections are truly at an imminent risk of collapsing, just as a result of the way the Warner Dam is maintained and has been maintained for decades with the water level purposely kept at a certain height every summer between May 1 and November 1, in part to also control the lake level for Chautauqua Lake for recreational uses.”

Leenders said that water height maintenance has caused the banks above the dam to be undercut by several feet. The project will build out the banks with rocks as well as native vegetation being planted.

He added the last project being funded is the removal of two large beaver dams on Canal Street off Jones & Gifford Avenue. This will help with water flow to alleviate flooding in that area.

Leenders said the bank stabilization projects will likely begin late this Fall when the Warner Dam is opened again. Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will be contracted to do the work.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Twan Leenders presents to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation board (March 15, 2023)

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation board has approved over $360,000 toward Chadakoin River bank stabilization and debris removal.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders presented a request for $362,925 in American Rescue Plan funding to remove debris in the Chadakoin River basin as well as do bank stabilization work on the basin’s north shore as well as the north and south shores between the Warner Dam and Main Street Bridge.

Leenders said with the city receiving funding to activate the Chadakoin River basin, there are other projects that should take place first, “It involves items like the existence of tree stumps and vertical spikes in the basin. If you go down to the Chadakoin basin right now, with the water level being as low as it is, you’ll see three, four-foot spikes sticking up out of the sediment. You’ll see tree stumps sticking up. And, you know at this point the dam is still open because it’s on the winter regime, so it’s mostly for flood control just getting water from Chautauqua Lake, melting water, rain water, to feed it out as soon as possible.”

Leenders said the dam will close on May 1, causing water levels in the basin to rise to the same level as Chautauqua Lake and hiding those spikes from boaters. He recommended the debris removal be done as soon as possible given that water levels are low and the DEC will prohibit work in the river come April 1 when fish spawning season arrives.

Leenders said Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District would be contracted to do the work for all of the projects.

JLDC broke up CWC’s request by approving $35,000 for the debris removal project so that that project could begin immediately. They then approved a second resolution for the remaining $327,925 for bank stabilization work.

City Council will review the $327,925 funding request at its work session on Monday, March 20th where Leenders is expected to present on the request.

Council previously approved $277,750 from the Water, Sewer and Broadband funds category to fund phase one of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Chadakoin River Stabilization Project. Phase one, which involved the CWC removing debris and clearing trees out of the lower Chadakoin River, was completed in Summer 2022.

Chautauqua Institution‘s Symphony Orchestra was granted $50,000 in Downtown Programming funds for a concert at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

The program will be “The Music of Billy Joel featuring Michael Cavanaugh with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra” and is scheduled to take place Thursday, August 17.

This will be the first time the Chautauqua Symphony performs off the Institution’s grounds. Their previously scheduled performance in 2020 was canceled due to the Pandemic and the performance scheduled for August 2022 was canceled after author Salman Rushdie was attacked at the Institution’s Amphiteatre the same day.

Officials celebrate the Riverwalk Illumination Project with the Jamestown BPU’s silo lit in the background (November 10, 2022)

The City of Jamestown has officially “flipped the switch” on the Riverwalk Illumination project.

The project, funded through Downtown Revitalization Initiative monies, lights up the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Coal Silo, Washington Street Bridge piers and abutments, and the Main Street Bridge arches over the Chadakoin River.

BPU Senior Electrical Engineer Kris Sellstrom said he remembers looking at the BPU’s silo and discussing with others what to do with it, “And how are we going to revitalize this river. As the Riverwalk started getting put in and some of the local lighting got put in there was kind of a resurgence of an idea to light up all of this great infrastructure. We came out with a few generators one night and stuck them under the silo and thought that as pretty cool. We ended up playing around a little bit. The Washington Street bridge got pulled into that and that’s probably the keynote now. When you see it tonight, I think you’ll be really surprised how beautiful that looks.”

The City of Jamestown received $10 million through the DRI in 2016.

County bridge 1077 on Harrison St. in Jamestown, viewed from Institute Street. (Image courtesy of Google Maps)

JAMESTOWN – It appears another bridge in Jamestown will be closing down later this construction season, causing detours and delays for commuters trying to make it across town.

Just months after the county finished the extensive overhaul of the South Main Street Bridge in Jamestown, with final finishing touches being completed last month, Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities announced on Wednesday that County Bridge 1077 on Harrison Street is slated for closure later this season so it can be replaced.

The announcement came as part of a media release focusing on the county-wide list of highway and bridge projects scheduled for the 2019 road construction season. The County DPF is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all bridges in Jamestown that are not overseen the by the New York State Department of Transportation.

County Bridge 1077 is located on Harrison Street, next to the intersection with Institute Street.

A red marker indicates the location of County Bridge 1077 on Harrison St. in Jamestown, scheduled for replacement in 2019.

According to the website BridgeReports.com, the last time the bridge was constructed was 1971, making it close to 50 years old. When last inspected in July 2015 it received a condition rating of “poor” – the lowest of the three ratings available (good, fair, poor).

The Harrison Street Bridge Project comes just months after the county finally wrapped up major renovation work on the South Main Street bridge, which took more than two years to complete and led to the roadway being closed for a significant portion of that time.  It’s not expected that the Harrison Street Bridge replacement project will take nearly as long to complete.

In addition to the Harrison Street bridge, there’s also cold milling and paving projects in Jamestown scheduled for:

• Harrison Street from South Main Street to Windsor Street;
• Baker Street from Newland Avenue to previous project limits in the City;
• South Main Street from Newland Avenue to Foote Avenue.

No timeline was provided on when any of the projects would take place.

The 2019 construction program includes paving of approximately 15 miles of county roads and the rehabilitation/maintenance or replacement of over 20 bridges across Chautauqua County. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including the New York State Consolidated Highway Improvement Program, the federal government and Chautauqua County.

A complete list of all county road projects can be found on the media release at the county website.

The South Main St. Bridge in November 2018

JAMESTOWN – A portion of Main Street in downtown Jamestown will once again be closed to traffic – but only for a limited time.

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities say that beginning Monday, South Main Street in Jamestown between First and Harrison streets will be closed to traffic as crews work to put a final overlay on the Main Street bridge.

The work is the final step in the $4.2 million dollar bridge rehabilitation project, that saw the bridge closed to traffic for much of 2017 and 2018.

In addition to a final layer of asphalt, crews will also install a crosswalk for the Riverwalk trail along with other related work. Most of the project was funded by grant money from the federal government, with 20 percent covered by the county.

That area of Main Street will be closed on Monday, April 15 and should be reopened by Friday, April 26.

The South Main St. Bridge will reopen to traffic on Wednesday, Nov. 21.

JAMESTOWN – The long awaited re opening of the south Main Street bridge in Jamestown will take place this week.

The Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities – which has overseen the reconstruction and renovation effort of the bridge – said it plans to open the span to both foot and motor vehicle traffic on Wednesday.

While the bridge will reopen this week, additional work still needs to be done. Officials with the county say the application of the top asphalt layer on the bridge is being delayed due to colder than expected temperatures as well higher water levels from the river. As a result, that part of the project will be constructed next spring.

“DPF thanks Union Concrete, GPI, the Jamestown BPU, the Jamestown DPW, and all those involved in this project who have worked through challenging weather conditions this fall so the bridge can be open to the public before the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Brad Bentley, Director of Public Facilities.

The bridge’s concrete relieving slab was poured on Sept. 21 and after a 14-day curing period, the granite curbing and sidewalk placement can begin.

“We are making excellent progress on this bridge replacement so it is safe for our travelling public,” said Brad Bentley, Director of Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities. “In addition to pouring the relieving slab, new waterline and electrical services are substantially completed across the rehabilitated arches. Workers are also cleaning and resetting the stone masonry on the inside of the arches and outside walls.”

The next steps to finishing this bridge project include the pouring of the concrete bridge walls, constructing the bridge approaches, and completing the asphalt paving. In addition, the cofferdams and stream access that were needed for construction will be removed and stream banks restored.  Simultaneously, the roadway beneath the railroad overpass will be rebuilt.  Finally, the lamp posts, fixtures and cap stone will need to be installed on the bridge walls.

The County expects, notwithstanding any weather delays, that this important bridge project will be completed and opened by the end of November 2018.

The bridge has been under construction for the past four years. During the summer of 2014, stones from the South Main Street Bridge fell into the Chadakoin River, leading to the sidewalk being closed on the west side of the bridge. In October 2014, then public facilities director George Spanos told the County Legislature’s Public Facilities Committee that during a biannual inspection of the bridge, consultants discovered water had penetrated the top of the arch under the bridge, which in turn softened the grout and stone. At the time it was expected the work would only take a single construction season to complete, but other delays extended the time line will into 2018.

In 2015 the bridge was reduced to a single-lane as crews made upgrades to it. But an inspection revealed the structural integrity of the bridge was compromised forcing it to be completely closed in March 2018. The total cost of the project comes in at an estimated cost of $4.2 million.