PETERSHAM — The Selectboard Tuesday night gave the town’s highway superintendent the go-ahead to take initial steps toward the replacement of a decrepit Petersham bridge.
“Highway Superintendent Greg Waid,” board Chair Nancy Allen began, “has been working on what has become one of the favorite subjects in Petersham: bridges considered in need by MassDOT (state Department of Transportation).
“Last week, he provided us with a project analysis and proposal from the engineering firm of Tighe & Bond. Greg’s been in several times over the years, since MassDOT flagged the bridge on Quaker Drive. This is not a town action — this is MassDOT.”
Waid said he recently re-drafted his original request for state Chapter 90 funds to replace the bridge, using its existing foundations.
“They were not going to approve replacing just the bridge on the foundations that are down there,” he told the board. “So, now we’re going to go for a Chapter 90 proposal to cover engineering costs. This is just for engineering, so that we can have a shovel-ready project to install a prefabricated bridge down on that road.”
Waid said he is seeking $105,000 from the state. The request includes $79,000 for the actual engineering project, plus another $26,000 to cover any contingencies. Waid added that he hasn’t yet received any estimates on the likely cost of the bridge.
“It’s going to be a prefabricated bridge, brought in on a truck in two parts, I do believe,” Waid explained. “It’ll be spread over the existing abutments, replacing a 16-foot bridge. The superstructure of the new bridge will be 500 feet long. It’ll sit on foundations, instead of abutments. So, the old abutments will remain there as retaining walls; they’ll just stay there and direct water. There won’t be any work done in the waterway at all.
“They’ll dismantle the top part of the bridge a little bit so this bridge will fit in and not be much higher than the roadway is now. The engineer hasn’t done any field analysis on it, so that could change here and there a little bit — but that’s what we’re looking at.”
The bridge on Quaker Drive — a typical narrow, rural New England road — spans Moccasin Brook. The deck sits about 15 above the picturesque little waterway. The bridge was shut down in spring 2019 by order of the state.
According to Waid, “The bridge was shut down due to the deterioration of two of the I-beams. They had rotted and had collapsed — or dropped — five inches or so on one side of the bridge. The abutments were in fair condition when last inspected, but they’re not in a condition where the state would fund us money to use them again. They don’t have a life span of 75 years, so they would not fund any money to re-use them.”
Allen pointed out that there are a number of properties used for recreation and agriculture, but only one homeowner on the road.
The Selectboard, without dissent, approved Waid’s plan to seek Chapter 90 monies to pay for the engineering and to hire Tighe & Bond, a Westfield-based firm used by many Bay State municipalities, to do the engineering work.