Great Barrington — On Sunday, August 11, residents from both Great Barrington and Sheffield met with State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D – 3rd Berkshire District) to discuss the Brookside Road Bridge closure. About 60 residents met at the intersection of East Sheffield and Brush Hill Roads, right next to the closed bridge. The meeting was organized by the Brookside Road Association led by Merle Kailas.
The bridge was unexpectedly closed on May 2 following a routine inspection by the state’s Department of Transportation. The truss-style bridge crossing the Housatonic River was built in 1949, with a total length of 148.3 feet and a span length of 142.7 feet.
Back in late May, Great Barrington Town Manager Mark Pruhenski said that the expected timeline for the design, permitting, and replacement for the bridge is four years, and the estimated cost for the project is in the “$3.4 million range.” At the August 11 meeting, participants tossed around estimates of how much it would cost in total to replace the bridge, with some residents saying that they heard different estimates for how much it would cost to fix the bridge.
According to MassDOT’s website, however, the estimated total contract cost for the project is listed as $10.9 million, and the estimated total federal participating construction cost is $11.6 million.
While residents at the meeting debated on whether or not it was a good idea for the town to pursue a temporary bridge project or to open one lane of the bridge to traffic, attendees agreed that any solution to the bridge closure would take a long time. “The earliest that we can get for a replacement bridge is 2028 or 2029,” Kailas told the crowd gathered near the bridge. “We are hoping that something can be done on a state level to accelerate [this project]. There also has to be an assessment made to see whether or not there could be a temporary solution. Our main concern is safety.”
Kailas said that before the Brookside Road Bridge was closed, it would take approximately seven minutes for an emergency vehicle to get to her house. “That seven minutes has now turned to 27 minutes,” Kailas said. “We are really concerned with the safety of people [in the neighborhood].”
Pignatelli said that, while the bridge is owned by Great Barrington, the state has agreed to cover engineering costs of the project. “It’s going to cost a lot of money for the state to pay for a bridge in your town,” Pignatelli said. “I think it’s really wise and smart for the state to do that. [Bridges] have been a problem throughout the Commonwealth. There are 19 bridges in Great Barrington alone, 35 in New Marlborough, 14 and a half in the town of Lee. These bridges have all been aging out at the same time.”
Pignatelli said that he wanted to hear from residents who are impacted by the bridge closure but did not intend to be critical of town officials. “I am not here to be critical of the town because I do not get involved in local politics,” Pignatelli said. “I’ve made a promise to myself [for] 22 years ago to stay out of local politics, but I’m here to help you out.”
There was discussion back and forth during the meeting regarding installing a temporary bridge. Pignatelli said that, while a temporary bridge is an option for the town, there would still be financial and infrastructure consequences. He said that if the town did undertake the design and the construction of the temporary bridge, the state would not fund the engineering costs and other costs associated with a permanent replacement. “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 in order to make it work.”
Many of the attendees said they are concerned about the condition of East Sheffield Road, the detour residents have been using to get to their houses, explaining to Pignatelli that the road has multiple problems. “The road is built on a floodplain,” Kailas said. “Some of the road is actually falling back into the back of the river. One time [going down the road] I was sandwiched between two trucks, despite the fact that there’s a sign that says ‘no trucks’ [on the road]. One of the trucks was so high that it kept knocking off branches [from trees], and one of the branches landed on my windshield.”
Great Barrington Fire Department member Matt Pevzner spoke about the department’s challenges with East Sheffield Road since the bridge closure. “[For an emergency call,] Great Barrington and Sheffield will be coming down that road, and that’s one reason why we need to keep the trucks off of [East Sheffield] Road,” Pevzner said. “These trucks are big, and cars are a little bit of a match for a truck coming down this road. I know it’s not the best road [for emergency vehicles] to come down, but it’s a lot faster.”
Pignatelli said in response that any solution to trucks using the road would be the responsibility of police enforcement but that “you can’t stop local delivery.”
Camp Eisner is located on 53 Brookside Road, just feet from where the August 11 meeting was held.
Resident Neil Berger spoke to Pignatelli about the potential impact the bridge closure will have on residents’ homeowners insurance. “Our homeowners insurance [policies] are all rated on how far we are from various fire and safety [departments],” Berger said. “I know we don’t have [fire] hydrants, but when you’re five minutes away from a fire engine response, your fire [insurance] coverage costs are much lower. I’m anticipating increased costs for fire and other insurance coverage because no one can get here in time to save these houses.”
Brush Hill Road resident Nora Fernandez asked Pignatelli if it was possible for MassDOT to put any bridge project higher on its priorities list. “Engineering doesn’t take a year,” Fernandez said. “I’m an architect. It takes a year if there are other priorities on the list, which is understandable. My question is, what can we do to make them put our bridge higher in the list of priorities?”
“I will do my best to see if we can accelerate the design [process],” Pignatelli said. “But keep in mind, MassDOT only has so many engineers to do bridges for 351 communities. We’re talking about thousands of bridges in very similar conditions to what you’re seeing right now.”
In the end, Pignatelli told residents that he would look into having MassDOT set any bridge replacement as a high priority and that he would talk to officials from Great Barrington and Sheffield in order to possibly apply together for grants to improve the condition of East Sheffield Road. “Let’s keep working together on it,” Pignatelli said. “Let’s get sound information, and that’s when we move forward with it. We’re like buckshot [when it comes to getting information] right now. We gotta avoid the buckshot.”
