by Mayor Margay Blackman
The big tent on the north side of the canal in Brockport will soon be coming down. The trusses and other bridge parts have been sandblasted to the bare metal, coated with zinc (to prevent oxidation), primed and painted the familiar light green.
The lead paint dust from sandblasting has been contained in nine 55-gallon barrels to be hauled off to a hazardous waste landfill. Each barrel bears the BIN (bridge identification number) that indicates the originating bridge of its contents; the BIN allows tracking of everything removed from every bridge.
Each bridge in NYS bears a BIN on a green street sign type metal plate which must always be visible.
On Brockport’s lift bridges, the BIN plate is mounted on a concrete support pillar of the bridge. All BINs on Erie Canal bridges bear the prefix 444. The Main Street bridge BIN is 4443240. The BIN is probably best viewed from a kayak come spring.
