Closing of bridge creates two years of inconvenience

Date: 5/23/2012

May 23, 2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

CHICOPEE — People will have to think twice about driving in and out of downtown Chicopee for the next several years with the closing of the Davitt Bridge this week.

The bridge will be completely demolished and rebuilt, according to Mayor Michael Bissonnette, who said a committee has been formed to develop a marketing plan to remind people how to get into the downtown area without the bridge.

This is the second bridge affecting Chicopee residents that has been closed for rebuilding within the last 12 months. The Willimansett Bridge is also closed.

Bissonnette said that after months of waiting to hear from the state about the final date of closing the bridge, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) officials left his office a voicemail on May 18 that the bridge would be closed on May 21.

The bridge project is expected to take two years, and Bissonnette said, "Anything that reduces options is going to be an inconvenience."

He believes that "inconvenience" will be managed by the fact that people can use Interstate 391 in place of the Davitt Bridge, and by entering the downtown area by Front and Springfield streets.

He acknowledged that for most drivers it would take some time to get used to the removal of the bridge.

"I'm going to make mistakes about a half dozen times when crossing the river," Bissonnette predicted.

"There will be a period of adjustment," the mayor added.

He said there would be additional police details to avoid back-ups on the ramps to Interstate 391.

City officials had asked the MassDOT if the bridge could be rebuilt with a schedule of 60 hours a week rather than 40, which cut the planned construction time from three years to two. Bissonnette noted the bridge had been built in three months at a time when construction and safety standards were far different.

Access to Ames Privilege will be maintained he added, and the memorial plaques from the bridge have been secured.

The bridge is named for Father William Davitt, a native of Holyoke, who was the last American officer killed during World War I.