ATHOL — The Exchange Street Bridge reopened Wednesday morning after being closed to vehicular traffic since Jan. 13. A street sweeper sucked up much of the debris that collected over winter before the sawhorses were removed and vehicles were allowed to pass.
The closure was due to damage caused by an ice mass that broke off from a large ice jam upstream that swept along Millers River and smashed into brackets securing a 10-inch water main hanging under the bridge. Three brackets were snapped off and carried downstream by the ice, and town officials surmise they are settled in the riverbed somewhere near the water treatment plant.
Crews from the Methuen Construction company have installed three new steel brackets and repaired existing brackets that secure a 10-inch water main hanging beneath the bridge.
Athol voters on April 2 approved a debt exclusion for the full reconstruction of Exchange Street Bridge, which was built in 1939 by the American Bridge Company. The cost of the reconstruction project is estimated at $2,640,000. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation now requires weight restrictions due to its deterioration.
In 2017, the town was denied a waiver that would allow fire apparatus to cross the bridge. Wednesday morning, Fire Chief John Duguay confirmed that that restriction will remain in place until the new bridge is built.
“We can still drive ambulances over Exchange Street Bridge, but not the large fire apparatus,” he said, noting access to that part of town would be gained by way of the bridge near the L.S. Starrett Company on Crescent Street. He said there are no weight restrictions on any of the other bridges in town.