Alexandria Bay requests bids for quick replacement of dock

ALEXANDRIA BAY — The village is seeking bids from contractors to rebuild its Upper James Street dock. The village board will accept bids until 4 p.m. Friday and open them in public at the village office, Walton Street.

Village Mayor Terry J. Robb said the project comes with a 90-day deadline because the new dock must be ready for the upcoming tourist season.

"This project has to be done by Memorial Day weekend," he said.

The public dock has been closed since Jan. 12 after about 300 feet of cement cribbing, which holds up the dock, disintegrated because of decades of deterioration.

Mr. Robb said the village has obtained permits from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and other agencies much more quickly than usual.

"We've got all our permits in place," he said. "All the agencies have been very cooperative. They realize how important this is to us."

The village's plan is to remove the existing cement cribs, which will be replaced with steel pilings, and rebuild the dock with either wood decking or with steel and cement.

Village Department of Public Works Superintendent Gregory C. Millett said the village initially hoped to hire a local contractor to start removing the cement cribbing this week.

However, Mr. Millett said, the village later decided to include the removal work in the project bid because none of the contractors were willing to do just a portion of the entire project, which is estimated to cost $350,000.

Since the dock collapsed, the village has been seeking financial assistance from several agencies and has recently submitted a funding request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office.

The village will commit a total of $60,000 and bond for the remaining costs. Village officials also have discussed using $50,000 from a municipal building reserve fund if needed.

The village hired engineers at Fourth Coast Inc., Clayton, to design and oversee the reconstruction project.