Outlet bridge opens to drivers

It was music to Pete Blum's ears - the sound of the Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge opening up. He was one of many to come by to watch it swing open this morning. He says it means a lot to those in surrounding communities, especially commuters.

"I commute twice a day from East Irondequoit to Ontario, and during the summer months I have 18 traffic lights," Blum said. "During the winter, I have four."

And that's the problem. Drivers want a shorter commute. When the bridge is closed to car traffic between April and November, drivers have to go around to the Bay Bridge on Route 104.  But boaters want the bridge closed in the spring and summer months, so they can get to Lake Ontario. Now local leaders are trying to come up with ways to make the bridge safer and more efficient to motorists and boaters.

"Our two assemblymen, Joe Morelli and David Koon, are looking to the state for some funding for a study to see if we can motorize the bridge in a more powerful way and get some engineering on it so it can be leveled automatically," said Monroe County Legislator Stephanie Aldersley.

That study could cost $50,000.  Aldersley says it's more likely state leaders will be able to submit legislation that would open the bridge to cars one month early.

That's not exactly music to Pete's ears.

"What I'd really like to see is a real honest-to-goodness bridge that the boaters and commuters can be happy with."