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Date: 10/31/2023
NORTHAMPTON — During a virtual public hearing on Oct. 18, representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation presented preliminary plans to replace the current 12-foot-wide bridge that carries Old Springfield Road over the Mill River.
The $6 million project, which is currently in its 25% design phase, includes the replacement of the bridge — which is located where the Mill River feeds into the Oxbow Connecticut River just northwest of Mount Tom State Reservation. The project also includes roadway safety improvements to improve vehicular travel.
According to Caitlin Marshall, the project manager and civil engineer from MassDOT, the original concrete bridge — which was built in 1939 — is “structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.”
She said a steel bridge was placed on top of the original concrete structure back in 1991, but the bridge still experienced flooding during the winter months. A replacement bridge project was scheduled from 1998 to 2000 but was eventually canceled due to permitting issues.
In 2018, MassDOT initiated a new replacement bridge project and developed the project up until 2022.
“The project goals are to replace the structurally deficient bridge, improve roadway safety and drivability, reduce the frequency and duration of roadway closures due to flooding and protect the bridge in roadway from scour and erosion,” Marshall said.
MassDOT considered a few alternatives for the project including a two-lane bridge, but Marshall said a two-lane bridge was not practical due to traffic counts and increased environmental impacts and costs.
Instead, MassDOT settled on a 16-foot-wide single-span steel beam bridge consisting of one 12-foot travel lane carrying two-way traffic. The new design illustrates a bridge with hydraulic improvements and protection from erosion.
There is also a raised roadway profile, which Marshall said will reduce the frequency of flooding and subsequently the bridge closing due to that flooding.
The goal is for the bridge to facilitate all users including, pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles.
As for environmental impacts in general, Marshall said wetland replication will be necessary due to vegetative wetland impacts within the project area. She also specified required permits that will be needed for this project including the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act Protected Species Permit water quality certificate from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, as well as a categorical exclusion permit under the National Environmental Police Act, which is typically a permit used for projects that do not have significant environmental effects.
Marshall said there are no cultural resource impacts from the project but there will be a closure of the bridge during construction.
“The vehicular traffic will be detoured and the bridge will be closed to all users,” Marshall said. “Construction is anticipated to start in the late spring of 2025 and last for 18 months.”
When the bridge is closed during construction, road users will use a 3.1-mile detour using Clapp Street, Lovefield Street, Route 10 and Olive Street.
According to Justin Gilmore, a right-of-way agent for MassDOT, the current design plans indicate that the project requires four permanent easements and eight temporary easements. A secure right-of-way is also necessary for this project.
“The property owners impacted by this project will be contacted by city officials who will present the proposed impacts to each owner and discuss the methods by which the needed rights for the project may be acquired,” Gilmore said. “Documents will be provided to each owner to help them understand the acquisition process and how the project affects their property.”
The goal is to file the environmental permits for the project by 2024, complete the 75% design phase by June 2024, complete the final design submission by January 2025 and then advertise the project in February 2025 before construction begins.
Resident questions/comments
Northampton resident Benjamin Spencer questioned the lack of consideration in the bridge replacement plans for how MassDOT would approach an area where people participate in recreational activities such as fishing.
“There’s a fair amount of recreation that takes place right at this location,” Spencer said. “Unless I missed it, I didn’t see any real accommodations for that in any of the plans that I’ve seen tonight.”
Doug Peterson, the vice president and Boston office executive at Michael Baker International — a major provider of engineering and consulting services — said that his company had several meetings with Northampton and Mass Audubon about recreation access related to the proposed roadway profile. He said Mass Audubon had some concerns involving recreation in the area.
“All four quadrants around this area are Audubon’s land and there’s a lot of sensitive environmental species in this area,” Peterson said. “We’re going to have a landscape plan that’s going to have a lot of replanting and we can’t have that all I guess ruined by recreation area and use.”
Mike Sullivan, another Northampton resident, expressed concerns about replacing the bridge since he felt MassDOT’s goal was to increase vehicular traffic, which to him was not in the best interests of the locals living nearby. He suggested leaving the road closed without any improvements.
“People locally like to just walk or bike,” Sullivan said. “Increase to vehicle traffic, which seems to be your goal, doesn’t align with the interests of people who live locally.”
Peterson responded by saying there have been meetings with MassDOT district staff about controlling vehicular speed and increasing roadway safety within this project, including the implementation of traffic warning signs on each side of the bridge.
Another resident during the meeting asked how their property would be impacted by the project, to which Peterson responded by saying only Mass Audubon’s property would be impacted.