OXFORD – The Oxford truss bridge was closed Monday so crews could begin preliminary work in preparation for the new bridge building project. They bored through the bridge deck and down into the Chenango River’s banks to check the composition of the earth surrounding the building area in the middle of the village. By studying the extracted samples, engineers can figure out what kind of stress the foundations might be able to hold, said Chenango County Public Works Director Randy W. Gibbon.

“They are checking the bearing capacity of the soil,” said Gibbon. The final design for a replacement bridge is still undecided, but engineers are looking at either a truss expansion or building a pier into the river to support the structure, said Gibbon.