WARWICK — When the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced in March that Warwick would receive a $500,000 grant to replace its Gale Road bridge, town officials rejoiced, thinking the project was covered.
“We thought half a million dollars was a lot of money and could easily fix a bridge,” Town Coordinator David Young said.
But figures are beginning to look steeper than Young had ever imagined. During a Selectboard meeting Monday night, representatives from structural and civil engineering company Collins Engineers presented estimated construction costs of $598,000, an estimate which doesn’t include design, permitting and construction administration costs.
Young believes the project could cost as much as $750,000 with all fees considered.
“We’re already being informed ‘The project’s too big, you don’t have enough money for it, you’ll never get the project done this year,’” he said.
How, then, will the town come up with the extra money? It is currently undecided, though Young has some ideas.
One possibility is setting aside a portion of the town’s yearly Chapter 90 grant, though Young said he’s hesitant to take too much money away from road repair projects.
“Our roads are crumbling,” he said. “I’ve always said we need about half a million a year just to keep abreast.”
Young emphasized the need to assess which roads the town should hurry to repair, with some of the most problematic roadways being Orange Road, Wendell Road, Athol Road and Northfield Road. A one-mile section of Northfield Road was just resurfaced, with the $270,000 project finishing this month.
Another idea, Young said, is perhaps the bridge project could be completed for less money by using town employees when possible or by ordering a prefabricated bridge. Not accepting the grant altogether is a possibility, as Young said he hasn’t received a contract from MassDOT securing the construction.
“This would not be the first time you could do something cheaper on your own than you can with grant funding,” Young said, using Bernardston Elementary School’s roof as an example. Bernardston Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Dutcher estimated the town reduced the project’s cost by $100,000 by not accepting grant funding.
In the meantime, Gale Road bridge has been closed to traffic since October, following an unsatisfactory MassDOT inspection. Highway Superintendent Larry Delaney said previously that the bridge closure affects six residents in particular, who must travel to Orange and backtrack in order to reach other locations in town.