WESTFIELD—Several elected and city officials appeared at the city council public health and safety committee meeting Thursday to discuss Cowles Bridge.
The discussion was around the status of Cowles Bridge along Route 202 and 10, which the Westfield Fire Department is unable to traverse with several fire apparatus due to weight limits and the lack of a waiver from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). This meeting, which occurred before the City Council’s regularly scheduled meeting yesterday, had officials that included Rep. John Velis, Sen. Don Humason, Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan, Westfield Fire Chief Mary Regan and several city councilors and residents in attendance, as well as public health and safety committee members Ward One Councilor Mary Ann Babinski, Ward Six Councilor Bill Onyski and At-Large Councilor Dan Allie.
Several city and elected officials gathered in a room at city hall for the public health and safety committee meeting Sept. 7 to discuss Cowles Bridge.
A letter was sent to the city’s fire department dated Aug. 3 from MassDOT, requesting that the bridge not be used by vehicles over the posted weight limits until a waiver has been received to do so. Since then, the fire department has complied with the request.
According to Regan, the department filed for the waiver once the letter was received but has not received the waiver yet, in spite of an initial three-week window given.
According to Regan, the only fire apparatuses and other vehicles that can travel the bridge currently are a rescue truck, a brush truck and ambulances. This could delay response she said, but it also depends on other factors.
“It’s all relative,” she said. “But on an average, it’s about a 3 to 4 minute additional time that’s going to cause a delay for response.”
Regan said that the department has worked to alleviate potential delays in response times through a number of avenues, including working with the dispatch center for coordination and Westfield Police helping to monitor calls and assist with traffic along roads like Shaker Road, when needed.
The posted weight limit on Cowles Bridge
She said that medical calls have not been delayed but have had calls without fire apparatus responding, which the apparatus may respond at times depending on the nature of the 911 call.
However, Regan said that of the 13 calls since the city received the notice one response has been delayed, which was for a fire. She said the delay was about 3 minutes.
A possible solution to the concern proposed by Regan would be to have the fire department temporarily utilize what she called a “Quint” truck, which is a combination apparatus. The department does not own one, but could potentially borrow or loan one from another department.
Humason said that he could contact Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) about the possibility of loaning a quint. He said that following a fire of the public works garage in Tolland, the agency was able to get several vehicles for the town.
Until the waiver is given or denied however, Regan said that the department will continue to evaluate the situation.
“In the meantime we are monitoring our responses in the area, making adjustments as we can,” she said.
Regarding the replacement of the bridge, Humason said that while it is a concern, the status of the bridge is where they want it to be.
“We are, at least in my humble opinion, where we should be on Cowles Bridge,” he said.
According to Humason, the bridge is currently on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), with the project set to begin construction tentatively in 2020.
“We’ve had a lot of bridges replaced and repaired in the city and I think Cowles Bridge is next in line,” he said.
However, there was concern from some in attendance. According to at-large city councilor Dave Flaherty, the bridge has been looked at since 1996 for possible replacement and reached a 25 percent design phase in 2000 and was part of TIP.
“Are the bridges taking second seat to something else,” he asked.
According to Humason, there are restrictions that could cause this issue. He said that funds are limited for these types of projects and the projects may take some time to be completed.
“It takes projects a while to be done. I don’t defend that it takes a long time,” Humason said.
According to Mark Cressotti, city engineer, the project, if it were to begin construction in 2020, would cost about $12 million to $15 million to complete.
In addition, according to Humason and Cressotti, the list is fluid and can change depending on the needs of other bridges in the state, since Cowles Bridge is a state bridge.
According to Cressotti, there are between 8,000 to 10,000 structures in the state and 300 to 400 are on the list every year.
“It is dynamic, there is always someone coming on the list, are they deteriorating at a faster rate,” Cressotti said. “These are measurements the Commonwealth has to contend with.”
Earlier in the meeting, Cressotti was also asked by Velis about whether the bridge would fail. Cressotti could not answer due to the bridge being under the MassDOT purview, but did note that while the MassDOT will close a bridge if they deem it necessary, it will be left open as long as possible.
If work was set to begin on the bridge, Cressotti also said that one lane of the bridge will be left open at a time to allow for traffic to continue to flow.
Regarding the waiver, Velis said that he and Humason will continue to do what they can.
“The senator and I will do everything that we can do,” he said.
“We’re in a very different ballgame if that waiver is denied,” he added.
