State Route 34B bridge in Tompkins County receives national award

LANSING — The State Route 34B bridge over Salmon Creek in Lansing in Tompkins County was nationally recognized with the American Institute of Steel Construction and the National Steel Bridge Alliance’s 2024 Prize Bridge Merit Award, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 7. The awards program, held every two years, honors significant and innovative steel bridges and represents the highest recognition bestowed by the U.S. structural-steel industry. The Route 34B bridge was a winner in the medium-span category. State Route 34B runs along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake and is part of the Cayuga Lake Wine trail. It links Ithaca to Auburn, running between Cayuga Lake and Owasco Lake. The bridge carries almost 7,500 vehicles per day and is located along bus routes for Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit and the Lansing Central School District. “As a vital transportation link in the Southern Tier, the Route 34B bridge significantly enhances connectivity, sustainability, and accessibility while supporting tourism and economic development throughout the Southern Tier,” Hochul said in a news release. The $18.4 million bridge project, completed in July 2022, was designed and supported by the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) in-house staff to replace the original 1930 structure with a modern, steel slant-leg rigid-frame. It’s the longest structure in the state utilizing the slanted steel-leg support style, per the release. Other features include jointless abutments, elimination of fatigue-prone details, and a redundant structure type. The new bridge spans 500 feet and sits 120 feet above Salmon Creek. At 40 feet, it is wider than the original 29-foot-wide bridge, includes eight-foot-wide shoulders, and has an estimated service life of 75 years.