MONTAGUE — Amid rumors, Town Administrator Steve Ellis clarified during Monday’s Selectboard meeting that the town did not request the delayed opening of the General Pierce Bridge.
Ellis disputed claims that Montague had asked the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to delay the bridge’s opening until lighting could be installed. The bridge has been closed for a multi-year construction project since April 26, 2021. Rather, MassDOT is waiting on the delivery of equipment necessary to install the planned lighting and related utilities, Ellis explained.
“I did want to let everyone know because they have completed a lot of the actual bridge work,” Ellis noted. “I don’t know precisely what’s still left on their punch work, but they’re going to be leaving scaffolding in place and they’re waiting for some parts and equipment that will allow them to install the lighting, which I guess is a pretty major project from DOT’s standpoint on this structure.”
This delivery is expected to occur by February, with completion of the repair project still slated for March.
The $13.7 million rehabilitation of the bridge is designed to keep it standing for another 25 years. The project is being carried out by Northern Construction Service and is mainly focused on both rebuilding the deck and replacing some of the steel support structure below.
While these repairs will ensure the integrity of the bridge for another 25 years, state Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver announced “an opportunity to advance the full replacement” of the structure in an email to state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield, in June. The determination, Gulliver wrote at the time, came in response to advocacy “regarding the renewed support for additional work to remediate and to paint the upper trusses on the General Pierce Bridge” that had previously gone unanswered.
“Our analysis determined that, due to the age and condition of the bridge, the scope of work would need to expand considerably beyond painting and would additionally require extensive repair work to remove rusted structural elements that, although stable, are not suitable for painting,” Gulliver wrote in response to the Selectboard inquiring about the General Pierce Bridge’s potential painting.
“We considered several alternatives and determined that the approach that is the most resilient and least impactful to the community is to advance the full replacement of the bridge,” he stated.
No timeline has been set for the full replacement, but Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz said previously that he anticipates work could commence only after completion of the $56 million three-bridge replacement project along the power canal that was announced in June. Replacing Turners Falls Road’s White Bridge, the cross-canal Green Bridge and Sixth Street’s Bailey Bridge is expected to begin in four to five years.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.