SOUTHWICK – During Monday night’s meeting, the Select Board looked to move forward with concerns surrounding a covered bridge that is located on 412-418 College Hwy. A meeting was scheduled with the Select Board, Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson, and the four neighbors that own the bridge.
The Select Board’s hope was to have some information from the engineer that the owners of the bridge had selected. The engineer was going to look and determine if the bridge would have the safety and integrity to hold large vehicles, like fire trucks and ambulances that may need to cross the bridge in case of an emergency.
The covered bridge located at 412-418 College Highway in Southwick (WNG file photo)
With no new information being relayed by the owners, the Select Board took a vote to pass the matter along to Anderson and Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart. According to Stinehart, the town attorney has been instructed to get involved to see if he can facilitate any movement between the town and the landowners.
Before the scheduled meeting on Monday, the Select Board held a public hearing on July 26 with three of the neighbors to discuss the matter.
In a story from July 26, Anderson brought this issue to the Select Board after the past fire chief indicated that the 2007 Nor’easter storm may have jeopardized the bridge. It was also noted that the department’s fire truck tanker weights 45 tons and years back, the covered bridge was rated for 65 tons.
