Construction is running about three weeks behind schedule, but according to Otsego County highway superintendent Ron Tiderencel, the new bridge will be open within the next couple of weeks.

The bridge is currently being back-filled and sewer and water lines are being installed. When that is completed, Tiderencel said, a layer of crushed stone will be laid down to serve as the road surface until spring.

When warm weather returns, the bridge will be finished with a new asphalt road surface, sidewalls and railings and sidewalks.

Because the railings are not in place, the bridge deck will have concrete barriers this winter to keep someone from driving off.

Pedestrian traffic across the river will be maintained on the temporary footbridge upstream.

Tiderencel said one of the biggest things that put the project behind was the need to drive the pilings 100 feet down instead of the 60 feet they originally believed was needed.

The high water level and the flooding in late November didn’t help matters, he said.

The new sidewalk from Walnut St. across the bridge to connect with the sidewalk to the Clark Sports Center will also wait until spring.