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Date: 2/22/2021
AGAWAM/WEST SPRINGFIELD – If all goes well, the massive Morgan-Sullivan Bridge project, which began in 2018, will be completed by August of this year.
According to Agawam Mayor William Sapelli, construction is currently being done on the east side of the bridge, and the new bike path that is also being installed will have fresh concrete by the end of February. To combat the cold weather, construction workers have a special heater that keeps the concrete warm throughout the winter.
When finished, the bridge will be four lanes wide – two on each side – with added turn lanes, added sidewalks, and improved bike lanes and traffic signals.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and Northern Construction Service negotiated a $1.5 million contract to move the completion date up to August. Through this contract, construction workers have also been able to work on the bridge during the weekend, which has been crucial to its progress, according to Sapelli.
“They’ve really been going strong,” said Sapelli, who believes that people will start to see the bridge’s evolution once the rails are put up in the coming weeks.
While concrete can be implemented during the winter, blacktop cannot, according to Sapelli. This means that construction workers will not be able to incorporate blacktop until the warmer months.
“In the spring, what they’re going to be doing is setting the granite curbs, and doing mill and overlay,” said Sapelli. What that means is, on both sides of the city lines, workers will be taking out an inch and a half of blacktop so they can pour new blacktop.
“To do that is quite an undertaking, because they have to lift all the structures, and put the structures to the correct height. The structures would be catch basins, metal gas caps in the road, as well as sewers,” he continued.
According to West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt, with the Big E being closed for those 17 days in September 2020 due to COVID-19, lighter traffic allowed for increased progress on the bridge. Between that and the cities’ working relationship with Northern, almost every aspect of this project has gone smoothly. Both mayors believe that traffic on the bridge could reopen even a couple months prior to August, if everything stays on course.
“I can’t believe how thorough, complete, and safe Northern Construction has been,” said Sapelli. “They had a couple public hearings, and they really answered the questions.”
Sapelli added that there is usually a lot of foot traffic around the Agawam side of the bridge, mainly because Robinson Park Elementary and Robert Doering are both located near Morgan-Sullivan. With both of those schools closed throughout 2020 though due to COVID-19, construction workers did not face those obstacles.
Both mayors also expressed how extensive a project like this is, offering perspective on the tedious nature of what has been going on over the past three years.
“It’s not just new decking; it’s a completely new bridge built over a stream that feeds the Connecticut River,” said Reichelt. “It’s a whole production.”
The original bridge, which was built in 1946, is also a part of a new era where environmental protection is a key proponent to this project. Reichelt said that construction protocols “are vastly different” than what they were 60-plus years ago.
“There’s no better way to designing this bridge than with what they have now,” said Reichelt. “With the conditions they had to work with, I think they’re doing a very good job.”
Surrounding businesses, according to Reichelt, were initially concerned about the impact of this construction process. With COVID-19 however, many businesses had to close anyway. He believes that once the project is done, people will be satisfied with how it turns out.
“This is one of the biggest arteries between our two communities,” said Reichelt. “Once it’s done, it’s going to provide a lot better flow.”
The prior bridge also created congestion at the intersections, so part of this construction plan also involves clearing out surrounding streets that were heavily filled with traffic. Reichelt said that both cities have learned a lot over the course of the past few years about controlling traffic, especially when there was lane closures during the Big E.
“It’s been a hard couple years,” said Reichelt. “We’re now kind of on the other end, where we’re seeing what the improvements will be.”