50 Years Ago: City Worker Died After Plunging Through Bridge

A half-century has passed since a Binghamton city parks department employee was killed when a snow sweeper he was operating fell through a sidewalk on the Exchange Street Bridge.

According to the Binghamton Evening Press, 40-year-old Donald Burton died after he plunged into the icy Susquehanna River on February 11, 1970.

A Binghamton parks department worker died when the sweeper he was operating fell through the sidewalk on the east side of the Exchange Street Bridge on February 11, 1970. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Burton was trapped in the enclosed cab of the two-ton vehicle which landed on its top in a section of the river where the water was about ten feet deep.

The worker's death focused renewed attention on deteriorating infrastructure in the region.

The Exchange Street Bridge was built in 1901 by the Owego Bridge Company. The span underwent a $3 million rehabilitation project in 2015.

A 15-ton weight limit now is posted on Binghamton's Exchange Street Bridge. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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