GRANVILLE – On Thursday afternoon, Mass DOT (Department of Transportation) made an announcement that the Baker-Polito Administration has awarded $5.2 million to 12 communities throughout the commonwealth for the municipal small bridge program.
The announcement of the grants was made at a ceremony on Thursday in Hubbardston, Mass., with Lt. Governor Karen Polito, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, and other elected town officials and municipal leaders.
The bridge that goes from Beech Hill Road over to Borden Brook Road is one of the bridges that the grant money will be used towards. (Photo courtesy of Granville DPW)
At that ceremony included the Granville Town Administrator, Matt Streeter, as he represented the town for their grant of $500,000. The funding will be going towards preserve bridges on Beech Hill Road and Borden Brook Road over Alder Brook and Borden Brook.
Once Granville DPW Director Doug Roberts was informed of the news on Thursday, he was pleased with the outcome and appreciative that he and the Select Board decided almost 10 years ago to be more proactive with what the state offers.
“We’re excited. We just decided to fully participate in every single program the commonwealth offers,” said Roberts. “We’re doing our best to try to keep the infrastructure in Granville up to snuff.”
Built in the 1920’s the Borden Brook Road bridges are in close proximity to the Borden Brook reservoir, which is the facility for drinking water in Springfield. Roberts said that after the brook was dammed up in the 1920’s, the City of Springfield built a road around the brook and thus creating bridges for that road.
While Roberts is uncertain with what types of improvements will be made on the bridge at this point, he does know that they are in need of a change.
“They’re definitely in need of some updates,” said Roberts.
Roberts will now be getting some advice from consulting engineers that Mass DOT will suggest, and then he’ll do the designing and permitting before he puts the project out for bid.
The Municipal Small Bridge Program has existed since August of 2016 and $21.2 million has been awarded to communities throughout the Commonwealth. The announcement also explains how municipalities can be awarded grants in the program. “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 that is between ten and twenty feet in length. Projects are evaluated according to a strict set of eligibility criteria that consider the condition, benefits, and repair status of each bridge.”
