Mays Point Bridge Dam
No, Mays Point Road never used the Mays Point Bridge Dam to cross the river. [1]
While the structure strongly resembles a standard overhead truss highway bridge, it was built strictly as a piece of canal engineering rather than a public crossing. [1, 2]
The reasons behind this layout highlight the unique engineering of the area:
1. Built Exclusively for Equipment
The overhead bridge structure was never meant to hold vehicular traffic. Its only purpose is to support the heavy electric winches, walkways, and machinery that canal workers use to raise and lower the heavy steel gates (Boulé gates) into the Seneca River. [1, 3]
2. A Rare Exclusion on the Canal System
When New York built these movable bridge dams between 1906 and 1918, engineers initially thought about dual-purposing some of them for vehicle traffic. However, doing so was highly impractical for most locations. Across the entire state canal system, only two movable bridge dams were ever actually configured to carry public roads (the bridge dam at Tribe Hill and the one at Scotia/Lock 8 on the Mohawk River). The single-span dam at Mays Point was not one of them. [1, 4]
3. The Actual Road Crossings
Historically, vehicles on Mays Point Road (County Road 105A) crossed the nearby Clyde River waterway via a distinct wooden timber stringer bridge built in 1929 (which was later replaced in 2003). For traveling north-south over the main Seneca River arm, traffic has traditionally relied on the nearby Route 89 Bridge. [5, 6]
The Bridge Dam remains entirely closed to the public and is restricted solely to New York State Canal Corporation personnel. [7]
