A recount of a failed $3.8 million bridge repair warrant article yielded no changes despite the hopes of some concerned Salem residents.

Though the recount did not change the outcome of the original vote, Selectman Michael Lyons said he intends to present a bridge repair plan to his board in an upcoming meeting. Lyons said his plan would be to set money aside to repair one bridge yearly.

The warrant article would have given $3 million to repair four town bridges and the roads leading to them. Another $800,000 would have gone toward a hydrology study to assess flooding issues near the bridges.

Had the article passed, officials would have given the money to repair bridges on Haverhill Road, Pelham Road, North Main Street and Emerson Way.

Despite the urgings of selectmen and some residents at the town’s deliberative session and other meetings leading up to Salem’s election, the article fell just short of capturing the needed two-thirds majority to pass.

Initially, the article received 2,070 favorable votes on March 13. At the recount, it received 2,063 votes in favor but needed 2,093 to pass.

Lyons said he didn’t expect the recount to overturn the original vote since Salem’s recounts typically haven’t changed anything.

Still, he said he’s been thinking about his new proposal since the article failed.

“I’m concerned about our infrastructure,” he said. “The bridges have to get done because they don’t last forever, and we have to have some kind of plan.”

Rather than bring another bond proposal before voters next year, Lyons said he’s optimistic a one-bridge-per-year proposal wouldn’t burden taxpayers as much.

Lyons said he’s not sure what the cost might be to repair a single bridge, but he hopes to plan it out with the rest of the board.

“I’m only 20 percent of the board,” he said. “This is just one man’s idea, and I’m open to modifications.

It’s just getting the ball rolling, and I probably haven’t thought everything through.”

Should voters approve a yearly bridge repair program, Lyons said there is the potential that Salem could receive up to 80 percent reimbursement from the state. This money would likely take several years to reach Salem though, he said.

Though Lyons is hopeful of getting his proposal moving, residents of the Haigh Avenue area who suffered heavy flooding during last May’s floods said they were upset the recount didn’t change anything.

“It’s disappointing, but I’m glad we did (the recount),” said Marcia Corbett, a resident who gathered enough signatures to initiate the recount. “Some of these bridges are in dire need and I don’t know how Salem is going to go forward.”

The hydrology study attached to the article would also have helped address Salem’s water flow problems, she said.

Still, she and other residents are continuing to look into the issue. Currently, Corbett is working with Dennis Burke, another resident who believes the Methuen Falls Dam is somewhat responsible for Salem’s flooding problems.

Burke and other residents may file a complaint with the state about the dam.