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The pedestrian bridge to Goat Island was closed Tuesday.
When I visited Tuesday afternoon, a Park Ranger and Delaware North staff member were guarding the barriers and crews were on the bridge.
I did not identify myself as a journalist but I asked how long the bridge would be closed. They said it was an annual safety inspection, a few more hours.
It sounded plausible until later in the day when I heard from a tour guide text thread unverifiable details culled from what employees at the Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds were saying,
It’s important to know, the Maid employees work for the Glynn cabal, which is in an unpublicized process of business succession. You know, like when an owner dies, rest in peace Mr. Glynn, and multiple heirs need to be compensated.
The concept for such planning is complicated but best started sooner, rather than later, with a professional like me.
So the ground level gossip version of why the bridge was closed was a jogger, at 1 a.m., ran across the bridge and felt it shake enough to call 911. No idea who runs on Goat Island then.
It was shut down until an inspection could be completed. We will likely never know if if it was annual or emergency
How the job of replacing it will be funded is a matter open for speculation. Funding could come from state parks, the New York Power Authority or the Greenway Commission. The process has been ongoing for 13 years.
The original bridge is covered with an “Baillee” bridge, a temporary structure put in place to cover the original decayed structure. It is beyond its logical use expectancy.
The most efficient way to upgrade the pedestrian crossing might be to dewater the American Rapids but the last time it was discussed, under the Biden administration, federal bureaucrats had concerns over allowing the excess water to go over the Horseshoe Falls since if it was a very wet year, it might not handle the flow.
Engineers reportedly could not put the extra flow through the power plants because there is no bypass and the turbines might generate too much electricity and overwhelm the grid.
An engineer spoke to the Express this morning, off the record and said all options are still on the table and the process is currently moving toward an environmental impact statement.
