SPRING VALLEY — The Spring Valley Village Board heard and approved a Glade Avenue bridge removal proposal and returned from closed session to approve the school district’s annexation of the bus garage into the district during the April 1 meeting.

Cedar Corporation Municipal Engineer Greg Adams presented the bridge removal item to the board. Adams said $280,650 of the project is covered by grant funding. The project is contracted through the state with a deadline for completion in June 2029.

“This project in its entirety was budgeted for this year, and we just could not make it happen for the 2026 construction season,” Public Works Supervisor Steven Kirby said. “At any time, Cedar [Corporation] could tell us that that bridge has to be closed, it’s unsafe to travel.”

Adams said the bridge is nearing a rating of being shut down. The bridge is on Glade Avenue between Oak and South Third streets.

“Obviously, the bridge is there really as a transition, it’s not a waterway,” Adams said. “There would be some water that comes through there that would be replaced with an appropriately sized culvert.”

Construction could begin on the bridge in either 2027 or 2028. The layout for the bridge replacement would be two 12.5-foot lanes with guard rails. Adams said they would look into potentially adding a trail or sidewalk to one side of the bridge for pedestrians.

“We’d be removing the bridge all-together, building the retaining wall system. It would be all select fill material, sand fill material under there,” Adams said.

The bridge had to be a two-lane road in order for the village to be eligible for grant funding. The board unanimously approved the removal project.

School District Annexation Decision

The Village Board approved the annexation of 34.625 acres of school district land from the Town of Gilman to the Village of Spring Valley. The property is the site proposed for the district’s transportation building, with the annexation proposed to get the building under village utility systems in sync with the rest of the district buildings.

The property is directly across County Road CC from the school building, and the school board approved a communication plan in March to lay out information on why the annexation is mutually beneficial to the village and district.

The Village Board made the approval after a closed session, amending the motion to include first right of refusal, allowing the village to purchase the land or enter a deal before other offers. The motion was approved 6-1. The lone opposition was Trustee Nate Pelz, who was in favor of the annexation, but voted against due to the first right of refusal addition.

Street Closure Applications

The board tabled a pair of street closure applications. The first was for the Very Valley Christmas and parade events, requesting the event organizers return with separate closure applications for the parade and Very Valley Christmas. A closure for Mooney’s Car Show was tabled to gather more information about the event and verify insurance.