Oatka Creek - River Modifications

River Modifications

The only significant change made to the river by human engineering is the dam at Le Roy near where Route 5 crosses the creek. It creates a 25-acre (10 ha) lake in the center of the village. Other dams or diversions that were created for milling purposes in the 19th century have been abandoned and/or removed. There are no power plants or flood control projects along the creek.

There are 32 bridges currently spanning the creek, built between 1915 and 2003. The oldest carries Union Street in Wheatland; the newest is the NY 251 bridge into Scottsville above the creek's mouth. Seven of them carry NY 19 over the creek. These include both the longest, the 227-foot (69 m) crossing over the lake created by the Le Roy dam, northernmost along Route 19, and the shortest and southernmost, its 29-foot (8.8 m) bridge south of Rock Glen. Most are steel or concrete stringer or box girder structures, with the US 20 bridge in Pavilion and one of the Route 19 bridges north of Warsaw being steel truss designs.