COLRAIN — A small bridge closed by the state four years ago has been demolished, and work has begun to replace it.
Demolition of the Heath Road bridge off Adamsville Road was completed on June 11, and crews are expected to start putting precast bridge sections into place this fall, according to Patrick Marvin, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. He said the contract for this project is about $1.2 million, with federal funding to pay 80 percent of the cost and the state to pay the remaining 20 percent.
The tropical storm Irene-battered bridge was closed after a state inspection in April 2014, with plans to replace it in 2018. At the time of closure, the two outside girders of the bridge were found to be failing.
Although it was little-traveled, the bridge closure added about $46,000 a year to the Mohawk Trail Regional School budget for a four-wheel drive van to transport students on the narrow roads required by the detour.
At the time of the bridge closure, Mohawk officials said it was necessary to order the smaller van from Kuzmeskus to accommodate seven Mohawk students and 14 elementary students in two trips, transferring the students to a larger school bus. Mohawk officials could not be reached this week to say whether this extra $275 per-day transportation cost had changed in the years since the bridge was closed.