CHARLEMONT — Charlemont, a town of roughly 1,250 people, runs on about a $3 million budget; but this year the town could have a $5 million bridge problem.
Currently, town-owned bridges are closed on Tower Road, Burington Road, and two Maxwell Road bridges with less than 20-foot spans were closed within hours of inspection. A bridge was closed on West Oxbow Road last fall, but a temporary bridge, on loan from the state, is now serving residents there.
This week, the Selectboard reviewed the town’s bridge problems with other town officials at an all-boards meeting at Hawlemont Regional School.
Selectboard member Sarah Reynolds, giving details of a “Town Bridge Situation Report,” said that 23 town bridges of 20 feet or longer are being inspected by the state. Also, state bridge inspectors are evaluating the town’s smallest bridges, with spans of less than 20 feet.
“Unfortunately, the town has no history on these bridges and it is the first time the state has inspected ones this size,” states the report.
Town-owned bridges are ineligible for federal funding.
But because state transportation officials are seeing an increase in small bridges that are at risk of full or partial closure, Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed a $50 million program to address small, failing municipalbridges that need repair or replacement.
This proposal was discussed in the State House Thursday, with state Highway Administrator Thomas Tinlin urging support for the program.
There is a critical need to address small bridges, Tinlin told the House of Representatives’ Bonding and Capital Assets Committee. He said towns and cities can’t afford to address fixes to bridges that span between 10 and 20 feet but often carry significant traffic volumes. “Inevitably, they come to us looking for help,” he said. “This program, we feel strongly, will help alleviate that burden on them.”
Tinlin told lawmakers that an email from Amy Coates of West Oxbow Road in Charlemont last August helped transportation officials to conclude the small bridge problem “was a much larger one.”
“I strongly support the idea of this, because there are many towns in my district in dire need of this money,” said State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, who represents Charlemont and 15 other Franklin/Berkshire County towns. “We’re expecting a vote (on the small bridge program) before the full House in this session,” he said.
Tinline said design and construction of bridge projects could be handled locally, and municipal projects would be evaluated and prioritized based on several factors.
Currently, money spent to bring town-owned bridges up to modern standards must come from town revenues or from its general-use Chapter 90 highway money. But the repairs or replacements must meet modern state standards. In some cases, that means building bigger bridges to replace the old ones, the Selectboard said earlier this week.
“Our five priority bridges could easily be several million dollars,” said Selectboard member Sarah Reynolds.
The top five priority bridge repairs or replacements for large bridges include three bridges along Route 8A North and South, one on South River Road, and one on Zoar Road. Priority repairs for the town’s smallest bridges are the two on Maxwell Road and on Legate Road, where an inspection report is pending.
This fall, after Massachusetts Department of Transportation abruptly closed a West Oxbow Road bridge following an inspection, the Selectboard has been combing through the recent inspections of other bridges, setting priorities for bridge repairs before any more bridges are closed or restricted for weight loads.
“We have more bridges than most towns do, in our area,” said Reynolds. “Our budget is a $3 million budget. When you have $5 million in bridges that are going to need attention, you have a problem.”
Repairs for the number-one priority bridge over the Maxwell Brook, on Route 8A, was estimated to cost $1.2 million in 2012. Fixing the West Oxbow Bridge, where the temporary bridge is in use, is expected to cost $518,000. Work needed for a bridge at the intersection of Route 8A and Route 2 is expected to cost $2.6 million.
Selectboard Chairwoman Beth Bandy said the dozen bridges smaller than 20 feet long have just started getting inspected. “The first two inspected were closed within hours of inspection,” she said. “Even as we fill out a list of priority bridges, others are being closed.”
A recent inspection of a small bridge on Legate Hill Road revealed problems, but that bridge is now part of the detour for the Maxwell Road residents. If the Legate HIll Road bridge is closed, it would leave 91 residents to have to detour through Rowe to get home.
Charlemont Ambulance Director Dana Johnson said he is concerned that, if the state inspectors were to close the Legate Hill Road bridge or to prohibit emergency vehicles on it because of weight limitations, that closure would add several minutes to response times for ambulances and fire trucks.
Reynolds said the state came back out to Legate, saying they might lower weight limits on the bridge. “But even if you weight-restrict it, you have to make exceptions for emergency vehicles,” she stressed. “We’ve been doing letters and presentations to state higher-ups. Even if we try, there is no way we can do this (repair) ourselves.”
The town has obtained cost estimates for the repair of just the two Maxwell Road bridges. The abutments for the northern bridge are suitable for reuse, but replacing the superstructure would cost around $180,000. The south abutment for the southern bridge has been undermined due to scour damage and cannot be re-used. Replacement of the second Maxwell Road bridge is expected to cost $255,000.
“If repairing the two bridges under 20 feet is $435,000, then the estimated cost for repairing or replacing …all the bridges that need help immediately is not something a town that has an annual operating budget of little under $3 million can afford.”
The report says that a bridge that goes over the Deerfield River and is a main artery for 8A could cost at least $500,000 to repair. But it could easily cost more than $1 million if it must be replaced.
“We don’t have the money for this,” added Bandy. “We need to take this to town meeting in the spring. These bridges have been badly neglected by the town.”
Bandy said Charlemont is trying to get together with other small towns, to consider ways to make the case for state assistance to fix town-owned bridges.
“It’s not just about us,” she said. “None of these towns have the budgets to pull this money together quickly. We’re talking about several million dollars in Charlemont that we know about. How many other towns are in this situation?”
Reynolds said the board is also researching the cost of renting temporary bridges. However, to use them requires engineering to seat them properly. Then the approach must be re-engineered for the permanent bridge that eventually replaces it.
Selectboard member Toby Gould said the board has been working with Joseph Markarian, through the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, to design a capital plan that would schedule anticipated repairs and replacement of town property, including bridges. Markarian’s assistance is coming through the town’s “Community Compact” with the state, which involves Charlemont’s setting up a “best practices” capital improvement plan for the town. Town officials hope to bring a capital improvement plan to annual town meeting this spring.
“Nobody is a selectman forever,” Gould pointed out. “Unless there is a plan to replace things, you just don’t know how old things are.”
Many of Charlemont’s bridges were built before 1950.