I wonder if the state will eventually replace the fairly unique bridge dams on the Mohawk River with traditional dams with tainter gates.

Tainter gates would be better if unpredictable heavy rains become more common during the navigation season and it’s necessary to adjust river levels on an emergency basis but bridge dams are better historically because they cause less problems with ice jams in the winter months as they typically have fewer piers. Tainter gates are generally more reliable. Bridge dams can’t be raised in an flooding emergency, causing flood waters to back up until the panels fail, although the design of bridge dams usually means during extreme flooding only the panels and maybe the panel frames are sacrificial.