ATHOL — Town Manager Shaun Suhoski says he’s hopefully confident that the Crescent Street bridge project will finish up by its scheduled completion date sometime in December.
In January, Athol’s Selectboard, with some misgivings, approved an accelerated construction schedule for the project, allowing for the complete closure of the span to both motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the hope all work could be finished in the space of about eight months. Had the contractor, Northern Construction, done the work one lane at a time it would have taken two construction seasons, or about 18 months, to complete the project.
“There had been a time when they had to put concrete Jersey barriers along the eastern side of the bridge because there was a steel support, I believe, that was compromised on that one side of the bridge in particular,” said Suhoski. “It was an issue that had to be addressed.”
Suhoski credited Public Works Director Doug Walsh with maintaining a good relationship with the state Dept. of Transportation’s bridge safety.
“We’re fortunate that MassDOT did step in,” he said. “They paid for the design, the engineering. They bid this project as a state project. So, MassDOT is really the entity that is managing this construction.”
As far as the town’s involvement in the project, said Suhoski, “Doug and his team had to work with L.S. Starrett Company to get temporary easements to get this work done. So, I credit te DPW, I credit Doug Starrett and his company for working, from the beginning, and communicating with the state and with the town on how to best make this happen.”
Suhoski said getting the bridge replaced was a priority because the span is used by many of the 500 employees of Starrett, and also because it is a main connector between downtown Athol and several densely populated neighborhoods that lie north of the Millers River.
Work on the Crescent Street Bridge falls close on the heels of the re-opening of the Exchange Street Bridge, which was closed to traffic from May of last year until the beginning of April
“I think the structure just got to the point where (the state) felt they had to take action,” said Suhoski. “I’ve heard all the comments about coordinating Crescent Street and Exchange Street. Well, it’s never easy to get a bridge replaced, let alone two within the period of two years, which is what we’re going to have here in Athol.
“There is a price to pay — in terms of inconvenience — while the construction is ongoing. There’s never a good time to do it. But we really do have a good team of professionals at the local level working with the state to make it as quick and as efficient as possible.”
The cost of the Crescent Street project is being borne completely by the state. Northern Construction’s winning bid for the project, according to the MassDOT Highway Division website, was just over $4.25 million.
In an issue related to the Crescent Street project, Suhoski said steps have been taken to improve the temporary traffic control lights at the intersection of Chestnut Hill Avenue/Route 32 and Main Street/Route 2A. Traffic that would normally use the Crescent Street Bridge to jump the Millers River are now traversing the Chestnut Hill Avenue spans to access North Athol or the recently-opened Exchange Street Bridge.
“There were obvious issues with the signals at Chestnut Hill Avenue and Main Street,” said Suhoski. “In the initial phase, the visibility was not good. There were issues with the sight lines.
“As of today — it’s not perfect, it’s not going to be perfect — people will see that the green directional signage has been relocated, brush has been trimmed, the sight lines are much better than they were. Things take time to get corrected but we hear the complaints, we see it ourselves, I drive through there every day, an MassDOT has made some great improvements at that intersection.”
Other Athol bridges that have been cited as in need of work include the Pinedale Avenue Bridge and the Fryeville Road/Logan Hill bridge, both of which serve motorists travelling between Athol and Orange. Early estimates for replacement of the Pinedale Avenue span range from $1.3 to $1.6 million.