Great Barrington — The town is considering multiple options to temporarily reopen the Brookside Road Bridge. The bridge was unexpectedly closed on May 2 after a routine inspection by MassDOT.
The truss-style crossing over the Housatonic River was built in 1949, with a total length of 148.3 feet and a span length of 142.7 feet.
In late May, now-former Town Manager Mark Pruhenski wrote in an email that it would take around four years to replace the bridge and the project would cost an estimated $3.4 million. MassDOT’s website, however, lists the estimated total contract cost for the project as $10.9 million, and the estimated total federal participating construction cost is $11.6 million.
Since its closure, residents in the Brookside Road neighborhood have expressed their anger and frustration with the bridge’s closure.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, December 31, the town announced that it is now looking at three options that would temporarily reopen the bridge:
- Preserving and repairing the existing bridge for temporary use, which would cost $1.5 to $2.5 million. However, there may be additional costs due to road surfacing. This option would open one lane of the bridge to alternating traffic and would be completed between January 2027 and July 2028.
- Removing the existing bridge and installing a temporary one-lane traffic span, which would cost between $3.5 and $4.5 million. This project would be completed in January 2028.
- Installing a temporary span through the existing bridge, which would cost between $1.8 to $2.3 million and would be completed by January 2027. However, it is unclear whether or not this project is feasible.
Back at a community meeting with residents in the Brookside Road Bridge neighborhood in August, now-former State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D – 3rd Berkshire District) told attendees there would be financial and infrastructure consequences for the town if they chose to pursue a temporary bridge opening.
Pignatelli said that any temporary option would mean the state would not fund engineering and other costs for the project. “That’s a lot of money for the town of Great Barrington to swallow when they know they have 18 other bridges and culverts to deal with,” Pignatelli said. “If we open up the road, everybody will be happy. But there will still be the condition of the permanent bridge that will not go away. Also, you will still have to design and engineer a temporary bridge, and you will have to acquire a temporary bridge. They’re not sitting on a shelf someplace with this type of span and dimensions to make it work.”
The town’s December 31 press release noted that full costs for any temporary option would have to be footed by residents. The memo states that the “ultimate solution” would be a permanent replacement of the bridge by MassDOT and that “this option would cost taxpayers very little with land takings being the only expense borne entirely by the town.”
The press release did not note how much MassDOT would pay for the permanent bridge project and how much the town would pay but that a permanent replacement project would be completed by June 2030.
Through the press release, the town announced that municipal staff would soon make a recommendation to the Selectboard and Finance Committee on an option. The recommendation will most likely be discussed during fiscal 2025–2026 budget hearings in February and during the annual Town Meeting in May.
Meanwhile, a public hearing to discuss a permanent replacement for the Division Street Bridge will be held at Town Hall on Wednesday, January 15, at 6 p.m. Back in 2019, the Division Street Bridge, which spans the Housatonic River, was closed to traffic after a MassDOT inspection deemed it “structurally deficient.”
The temporary bridge was installed and opened to traffic in fall 2022.
At the January 15 public hearing, representatives from MassDOT will present a proposed project to replace the temporary bridge with a permanent bridge designed for a 75-year lifespan.
The bridge, as proposed, will be 500 feet long, have two 11-foot-wide travel lanes, and have five-foot-wide shoulders for bicycle traffic.
A traffic detour has been proposed for Park Street and Van Deusenville Road for the duration of the bridge’s construction.
The press release announcing the hearing did not list specific details of the project, including its costs, the duration time for the project, or when it is expected to be completed.
