A ceremony was held in Edinburg to break ground on the Batchellerville Bridge replacement project. Our Dayana Perez was there and has more.

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EDINGBURG, N.Y. – It's a long awaited project for many in the small Town of Edinburg.

"I'm ecstatic about it," said Priscilla Edwards.

Edwards says her family business has been impacted over the years because of the 80 year old Batchellerville Bridge.

"My husband hauls logs and he's done it for 40 years. He has not been able to cross this bridge with a tractor trailer in years. If there's a log job on this side of the lake, he has to go 35, 40 miles, all the way around in order to get back to this point," Edwards said.

Dozens turned out for the official ground breaking ceremony marking the start of what will be the new Batchellerville Bridge.

"We know at the Department of Transportation, that bridges are more than infrastructure. It's about people's lives and their economic well being," said DOT Commissioner Stanley Gee.

The Batchllerville's steel and concrete has been quickly deteriorating. So much so the Department of Transportation put a 15 ton weight limit on it and reduced traffic to one alternating lane.

For the past week, construction crews have been clearing the way to build a new $46 million bridge, the only link between the two parts of Edinburg.

"For people to have to drive an additional 35 miles twice a day and put a two hour addition to their commuting time, it's just an impossibility. People have lost jobs have been out of work the long term impact would have been disastrous," said Edinburg Town Supervisor Jean Raymond.

The DOT says most of the demolished concrete from the old bridge will be used on the lake bed to become new habitat for fish, saving about $2 million in removal costs while improving the local fish population.

"It will really create a nice environment for the fish. Which hopefully will improve the fishing so the people on the side walk on the new bridge will be able to fish," Raymond said.

The new bridge is expected to be completed by the summer of 2014, but contractors say they may be able to finish it up before that.