Cowles Bridge over Little River, at the confluence of South Maple St, Mill St., City View Rd. and Southwick Rd in Westfield, soon will be under construction as part of a MassDOT project. (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD- The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) rescinded a waiver and lowered the weight limit for vehicles traveling over the Cowles Bridge on South Maple Street, preventing most emergency vehicles in Westfield from going across.
The DOT order Tuesday comes as the reconstruction of the bridge is projected to be ahead of schedule. The weight limit was dropped to 14,000 pounds, which prevents all firetrucks and all but one ambulance in Westfield from crossing it and getting to that part of the city. Mayor Brian Sullivan and Acting Fire Chief, Patrick Egloff, said that the city and Fire Department are prepared and have a plan in place to continue to allow emergency vehicles to get to the part of the city in the same amount of time.
“We have a plan, and the Westfield Fire Department is going to respond to all calls on the other side of the bridge just as fast as we did before,” said Egloff.
Sullivan and Egloff said that the city has an agreement to borrow a smaller vehicle from the Holyoke Fire Department. The new vehicle, which has been dubbed a ‘tactical vehicle’, weighs 12,000 pounds, can carry paramedics, and has a mini-pumper water tank and hose to begin attacking a fire while the larger vehicles take another route if more are needed.
For now, any emergency calls from that side of the city will be responded to with the ambulance that meets the weight requirement and the tactical vehicle. Egloff said that this affects emergency services to and from Southwick and the nearby hill towns as well. Southwick currently has two ambulances, and they have chosen to not allow either one to cross the bridge as a precaution.
Egloff added that they are looking at a three-year timeline for restricting the larger vehicles from crossing the bridge. He said that they are currently in a strategic planning phase and hope that the single ambulance and tactical vehicle are only a short-term solution while they come up with a more long-term fix. There are other routes to that side of the city, but it would add more time to a response, which is not always reasonable in an emergency.
“Everyone should rest assured that the Westfield Fire Department and city officials have a plan,” said Egloff, “Public safety is number one and will always be number one.”
Earlier this week DOT had the Westfield Fire Department weigh all of their firetrucks and ambulances on a specialized scale to determine which ones would still be permitted to cross.
Sullivan said that the project to repair the bridge, which requires lane closures and the weight limit reduction, is happening faster than was originally anticipated.
“What we thought was going to happen in a year is now happening sooner,” said Sullivan.
