By FRAN RYAN
Daily Hampshire Gazette
WORTHINGTON — Residents at a special Town Meeting on Tuesday voted unanimously to table an article that had called for the town to spend $32,000 for the rental and installation of a temporary bridge on Sam Hill Road. That in effect defeated the proposal submitted by Tom Spiro of 303 West St.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, a temporary bridge would likely cost at least $60,000 because of additional engineering expenses, which Spiro did not know when he wrote the article.
While some residents expressed interest in amending the article, Finance Committee Chairman Joe Boudreau said that the town does not have the money even to pay for the original $32,000 price tag.
“I don’t think there is any need to amend the article. Mass DOT says we will need additional funds and that will not allow us to afford a temp bridge,” Spiro said.
According to Town Moderator Sean Reagan, if an article is tabled and the meeting is dissolved, “that article is disposed of.”
Select Board member Evan Johnson told the 36 residents at the meeting, which lasted about 75 minutes, that the town has applied for a $790,000 MassWorks Infrastructure Grant from the state that would allow the town to repair the permanent bridge which has been closed for a year because of structural problems. It spans the Watts Brook.
“We expect a decision on the grant at the end of October or beginning of November,” Johnson said. “A design is currently being worked up so that if we get the money in November, construction can begin in the spring. We then have a bridge and we are done with this.”
Spiro asked what the town intends to do this winter and during the spring mud season to improve conditions on West Street and the other alternative access roads to ensure that they will be safe and drivable, until a new bridge is in place.
“We will be working with the highway superintendent all winter long to make sure that any problems on those roads are addressed,” Johnson said.
“We are just keeping all of our fingers and toes crossed that we get this grant,” he said.
