A few months back, Town of Montgomery board members were pretty clear they didn’t want to pay for the rehabilitation of the Hill Street Bridge in Walden. Now it’s in talks again.

The conversation came up at the special board meeting last Friday right before Brian Maher resigned as supervisor. A construction engineering company, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc (GPI) is being used for consulting services for quotes on the bridge.

The Hill Street Bridge has been in debate for years, and months back it was brought up because of guidance from Montgomery Town Attorney William Frank. Originally many Montgomery town board members were against it because it would be taken out of the town’s General (A) Fund, which assesses all town taxpayers, including residents in the three villages. This upset many village trustees at Walden, who publicly stated their disappointment in the town.

However, it appears the town is trying, since they hired an engineering group with intentions to apply for a grant.

The grant they’re applying for is a BridgeNY grant, which if received, will be used to fix the bridge and make it accessible for vehicles again. According to the Department of Transportation, the BridgeNY program is part of the governor’s five-year capital program, and increases at $200 million a year.

Clerk to the Supervisor Lauren Rowley clarified they weren’t certain on a timeline of the grant, but clearly the rehabilitation of Hill Street Bridge isn’t out of question.

Walden officials could not be reached for comment.