Sharvani Regmi
Lift Bridge closed for construction on Main Street, Brockport, N.Y. on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (Photo Credit: Sharvani Regmi)
Brockport, N.Y. — Brockport residents had been using the Main Street bridge for over 100 years. That was until more than two and a half years ago, when construction on a new bridge began. The never-ending saga of the closing of the Main Street Lift bridge for construction has been a focal point of conversations online and in person. Area residents aren’t shy about expressing their frustrations.
Brockport residents are beyond angry, Brockport resident Mitchel Herrick echoes the voices of the online community.
Herrick said he has changed his route to bypass Main Street.
“For me it’s not bad because I can just drive down the street and meet my friends here,” Herrick said. “But if it was open, I’d use the bridge to walk.”
The Facebook page for the Village of Brockport has had to disable comments under their posts.
The closure has been devastating for local businesses owners.
Manager of Roosters Pub and Pizzeria Harry Bower has noticed a 30% decrease in traffic after the closure of the Lift Bridge.
According to Bower, Roosters had to make changes to their advertisement model after the bridge closure. They opened an Instagram account for the bar where they post more deals than they would have done when the bridge was open.
“Instagram is a good way to incentivize people to come back after the bridge closure, because it keeps people seeing our product that they may not be able to see otherwise,” said Bower. “I’m sure once the bridge is open, we will do some sort of special to welcome people back to this side of town.”
Roosters have a box on the side of their kitchen counter where people can win a free pitcher of beer and a large pizza if they guess when the bridge will reopen correctly.
Owner of Java Junction Cafe Peter Apicella says the initial closure of the Lift Bridge dealt the hardest blow to his business. Java Junction has been serving the community for over three decades.
“I have a lot of regulars, but the closure of the bridge hurt the business a little more in the beginning more than as time went on, people adjusted,” Apicella said. “The business has gone down about 5% due to the closure of the bridge.”
Brockport Mayor Ben Reed says most people avoid the two bridges closest to the Main Street bridge because of the struggles to cross those bridges. One of the bridges is one-way traffic at any time and the other one is narrower.
“Because of these circumstances people avoid those bridges and take the ones farther from Main Street, That indirectly draws them to restaurants in our neighboring towns.”
Reed is urging Brockport residents to support local businesses by choosing to “eat, shop, and play local.” With ongoing challenges faced by independently owned eateries along Main Street, Reed has emphasized the importance of community-driven economic support.
“When you’re grabbing a bite to eat or looking for a place to shop, consider what Main Street has to offer,” Reed said. “These businesses work tirelessly to stay afloat, and they deserve our backing.”
In response to the financial strain caused by the construction of Main Street bridge, Reed and local legislator Jackie Smith are jointly appealing to the state for economic relief. They wrote a letter lobbying for a grant that would redirect funds paid by the bridge’s construction firms to the state, reinvesting them directly into the village to support affected businesses.
This all started in 2021, when The Bridging Brockport Committee was formed to help designate and oversee an 18-month window of construction repairs for the bridge. The committee picked May of 2023, as a starting date and planned to wrap up in September of 2024.
The construction is part of an overall $28.3 million project for revitalizing bridges along the Erie Canal. According to the NYS Department of Transportation, the repairs are to replace the bridge decks with higher strength metal, modernize the bridges electronic and mechanical systems, and update the bridge towers.
Herrick may have heard Spring 2026 as a word-of-mouth rumor for the bridge re-opening. As of right now, all official updates indicate that the bridge is scheduled to reopen in November, if no other problems arise. Despite the closure, people can use the pedestrian bridge in the meantime, which is found off Park Avenue.
Residents and business owners of Brockport have been patiently waiting 28 months for the Main Street bridge to reopen, and despite that long wait they will have to hold out for another two months—maybe.