BLANDFORD – When Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, municipal leaders, and MassDOT officials recently announced the first two awards through the Baker-Polito Administration’s Municipal Small Bridge Program, town officials in Blandford were delighted to learn their town was one of them. Blandford selectman William Levakis went to a ceremony in Lenox on February 16, where a total of $750,000 was awarded to the towns of Blandford and Washington for small bridge replacement and construction projects.
Lt. Governor Karyn Polito awards Blandford Selectman William Levakis a Certificate of Funding for small bridge repair through new state program. (Submitted photo)
“I was thrilled to death,” commented Levakis, saying he was thankful Blandford was among the first to be picked. He also said he didn’t know Lt. Governor Polito was going to be there to present the award. “She’s a really nice lady,” he added.
Levakis said that when he and Brad Curry, the town’s highway superintendent heard about the program last year, they went to an informational meeting, and asked a lot of questions. He said Curry then put together the grant application.
Curry said even before the informational meeting, he had heard from colleagues in the MassDOT that the small bridge program was coming up. Curry said he was concerned about the superstructure of a couple of the bridges in town, and sought out some engineering advice on what it would take to replace the bridges.
“I’m no engineer myself. I seek people out who can help me with that,” Curry said. He was able to find an engineer to look at the bridges with him, and MassDOT also sent out inspectors, who pointed out some hidden weaknesses he had not seen.
“MassDOT worked very well with us the whole way through, they were very helpful,” Curry said. He and Levakis then went to the informational meeting last summer when the grant was announced, and found out what the state was looking for.
Levakis said the two bridges that will be repaired on North Blandford Road and Gore Road were falling apart, and both of them are heavily travelled. He said the town was in the process of looking for money for repairs when they heard about the program.
The Municipal Small Bridge Program, signed into law on August 10, 2016, by Governor Baker, is a $50 million program to aid in the replacement and preservation of municipally-owned small bridges with spans of ten to twenty feet. These bridges are not eligible for federal aid under existing bridge replacement or rehabilitation programs and an increasing number of them are at high risk for full or partial closure in the near future due to their present conditions.
“Our administration is proud to make these local investments in community infrastructure needs,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These first two Municipal Small Bridge Program awards are important steps toward ensuring flexible and reliable travel and encouraging economic opportunity throughout these local communities and neighborhoods.”
The Municipal Small Bridge program is a need and merit based program that seeks to fund those applications that demonstrate a critical need or substantially extend the life of an existing small bridge. Projects are evaluated according to a strict set of eligibility criteria that consider the existing condition, detour length, impact to emergency and essential services, economic importance, and repair status of each bridge project. Applications for this program are accepted three times per year: October 31, February 28, and June 30.
Blandford will receive $500,000 to replace bridges on Blandford Road and Gore Road that have deteriorated and are structurally deficient. These bridges are used extensively by fire, police, and emergency responders as well as school busses, utilities, businesses and members of the community. A detour of approximately 14 miles would be implemented if these two bridges were out of service.
The town of Washington, in Berkshire County, will receive $250,000 to replace a bridge on Middlefield Road which will service an important connector route between the towns of Washington, Becket, Pittsfield and Middlefield. This roadway is utilized by heating and utility companies, the postal service, emergency vehicles, residents, and commuters. A temporary, weight-limited bridge has been installed at this location as the original bridge was removed due to a beam failure, but the detour for heavier vehicles is 15 miles.
Curry said that Blandford will now do an RFP or invitation to bid for engineering, then an invitation to bid for construction of the bridges. He said they won’t be replacing the bridges completely, because the footings and headwalls are in good shape. What will be replaced is the superstructure, the beams and decking where cars travel.
Curry said like most towns in Massachusetts, they don’t have enough funds for infrastructure repair without going over the town’s 2 ½ override. He said this is especially true in Blandford, which has 54 miles of road.
“When they came out with this program, I was happy to see it,” Curry said, adding that it was a team effort to put the grant together.
“I give a lot of credit to Brad Curry,” Levakis said.
