BERNARDSTON — Hoping to minimize the tax burden on residents, the Board of Selectmen has applied for a grant through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Small Bridge Program to replace the Turners Falls Road bridge.
According to Town Coordinator Hugh Campbell, Bernardston residents approved a borrowing measure of $350,000 during April’s town meeting to replace the bridge, which is around 60 years old.
“It was identified as being structurally compromised last summer,” Campbell said.
Structural engineers from Stantec, an architecture and engineering consulting firm out of Auburn, N.H., recommended the bridge have a nine ton weight limit, which was implemented in the interest of public safety.
“Our industry in town has had to make alternative arrangements,” Campbell said, adding that the road is a heavily traveled local artery between Bernardston, Montague, Gill and Route 2. The limit forces construction vehicles, tractor trailers, school buses and other large vehicles to travel out of their way to avoid the bridge.
“We definitely look forward to bringing that bridge up to full capacity so it’s more user friendly for the town, for the school buses and for local businesses,” Board of Selectmen Chair Andrew Girard said.
Having had the borrowing measure necessary to replace the bridge approved, Campbell said a construction bid is set to go out next spring and the bridge will be replaced by the end of summer 2017.
However, Campbell and the Board of Selectmen recently learned about the Small Bridge Program, which was signed into law Aug. 10 by Gov. Charlie Baker. The five-year, $50 million program provides up to $500,000 per year of reimbursable assistance to cities and towns to aid in the replacement and preservation of municipally-owned bridges that are between 10 and 20 feet in length. Such bridges are not eligible for federal aid under existing bridge replacement or rehabilitation programs, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s website.
Campbell believes the bridge, which is 16 feet long and traverses Dry Brook, is an excellent candidate to receive the grant. He hopes the construction project could be entirely funded by the grant.
“We feel we can make a very strong and compelling case to receive funding,” he said. Making the bridge safe for travelers, he said, is “the number one priority of the Board of Selectmen.”
Receiving the grant would also alleviate the need to borrow $350,000 for the project, relieving taxpayers.
“This Board of Selectmen is always seeking ways to offset costs that burden the taxpayer,” Campbell said.
“State aid is very helpful, especially for things that have a tendency to go unnoticed such as bridges,” Girard said. “To have a big ticket item like repairing a bridge come through, it’s tough to handle on your own.”
Campbell submitted the town’s application to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation last week, meeting the Oct. 31 deadline for the first round of applications. Applications will be accepted three times per year: Oct. 31, Feb. 28 and June 30.
Campbell said he might submit separate applications for the town’s two other small bridges on River Street and Depot Road in the future. However, he said the town has yet to evaluate their condition to determine if they need to be replaced or repaired.