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BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. -- Officials say North State Road is set to open back up early this week, four months after storms created a sinkhole between Route 9A and Pleasantville Road.
The storms and resulting sinkhole that played such havoc with traffic, however, also led to the discovery of a piece of Briarcliff Manor history a horseshoe believed to be at least 100 years old, village manager Philip Zegarelli said.
The road was originally closed in August after a sinkhole developed during Hurricane Irene. The road reopened for about a month in October, according to earlier reports, then closed again when permanent repairs funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency began. Zegarelli said it was originally believed that the sinkhole was a result of the storm, but it couldve also been caused by what he referred to as mismatched construction.
We found the original bridge underneath, Zegarelli said, adding that the discovery led to complications in reconstruction. The culvert that came in mismatched the culvert under the road and it wasnt sealed. It created a lot of sinkholes so it had to be totally redone. Thats really why there have been delays.
Zegarelli said crews discovered the horseshoe and initial research dates the horseshoe back at least 100 years.
There are layers in the steel and its clear that a nail was thrown at some point, he said. This was not your modern day horseshoe thats more like a cast. This was tailored by (a Blacksmith) using a technique that hasnt been done in 100 years.
With the previous construction work beneath the road now removed, Zegarelli said there should be no more delays in construction.
I think the only delay that could happen would be due to weather because all that needs to be done now is the paving, he said. Were hoping to start paving at the latest very early (Saturday) and to have the road open in whole or in part by Monday.
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