NORTHFIELD — In five years, there may finally be a replacement to Schell Memorial Bridge, linking the west and east parts of the town.
Now that the initial design phase is coming to a close on the cherished structure that hasn’t been open since 1985, the replacement bridge could begin construction in 2021 and be complete by 2023.
“We are really moving ahead here,” said state Senator Stanley Rosenberg, who had been a key player in this project, which is run by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. “The fact that these two agencies found a path forward so that not only can we preserve a structure with some echoes of the past, but also secure it for the future, is fantastic.”
WSP, the consulting team in charge of design, presented the latest updates in design at Northfield Elementary School Thursday night. The three renderings were in response to about 300 comments the team took following its last presentation in December.
The next part of the process will come in the summer, when the consulting team in charge of the design will likely unveil the final rendering.
“I’m delighted that MassDOT is taking such care to get community input on this,” Judy Wagner, chairwoman of the Schell Bridge Advisory Committee, said.
Once again, community input came in full with a packed crowd at the elementary school, including Rosenberg.
The state senator, who drove in from Boston that evening, said the roughly $19 million in federal funding for the project is secure, and the current timeline for completion is realistic.
“We’re talking about another four or five years, and this thing will be real,” Rosenberg said. “It’s quite an accomplishment.”
Three updated designs were unveiled Thursday night, including tweaks to preexisting designs and one new design that merged two prior ones.
People were most keen on the first and third designs, but overall, were happy with what the consultants presented.
Schell Bridge Latest Design Renderings, March 2018 by Joshua Solomon on Scribd
“I think they really listened to what we said last time, and I’m excited for any of the options,” Northfield Selectwoman Julia Blyth said.
The first updated design shows: increased depth of the trusses and incorporating a crowning to match the bridges profile.
The second updated design shows: clipped corners of the trusses and the piers moved back to the current location.
The third, a hybrid of the former third and sixth designs, shows: the piers moved back to current location, vertical hangers and extended arches below.
“I think they’ve done a great job in taking our input from the previous meeting,” Schell Bridge Advisory Committee member Jerry Wagener said. “They should be commended for doing that.”
While residents, as in previous meetings, expressed interest in knowing if emergency vehicles could cross the bridge, the designers said it’s not the intention of the bridge, but it should be able to accommodate emergency vehicles, if need be. The designers said the federal funding is specifically intended to build a bridge that will promote walking and bicycling, toward better air quality.
The more granular details of design, like some of the features of the bridge that have become valued by the community and bridge aficionados, can be considered later in the process, Patrick Paul, district highway director for MassDOT, said.
“We want to provide this area with something everybody is going to be proud of and can enjoy,” Paul said.