TURNERS FALLS — A $38,000 asbestos abatement project is getting underway at the former Strathmore mill complex pedestrian footbridge on Canal Street in advance of planned demolition that may result in the closure of the Canalside Rail Trail.
The town has contracted with All-Star Abatement Inc. of Westfield to remediate asbestos contamination at the bridge connecting Canal Street to the Strathmore complex, which sits 40 feet above the FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. power canal, according to the contract documents. The bridge entrance and the bridge itself are inaccessible to the public.
According to Montague Assistant Town Administrator Chris Nolan-Zeller, the asbestos abatement is starting this week. After that, the Montague Department of Public Works will seal off the utility wires on the footbridge in advance of FirstLight’s demolition of the bridge, which is expected to take place during the annual canal drawdown in the second week of September.
“There’s a chance that both Canal Street and the Canalside Rail Trail will be closed for a period of time during that project,” Nolan-Zeller said about the demolition.
The specifics of the demolition timeline and any closures are yet to be decided, but the town will update the community once that information is available, Nolan-Zeller said.
This footbridge is part of a settlement for easements around Fifth Street and Canal Street from 2021, where FirstLight paid the town $250,000 for water, sewer, gas and electricity work in this area, including for the footbridge. The 2021 agreement holds that FirstLight is responsible for demolition and engineering, whereas the town is only obligated to support the company in this process.
In March 2023, voters approved a Special Town Meeting article to create a Canal District Utility Improvements Stabilization Fund, where the $250,000 is held. In May, Town Meeting approved the use of $67,800 from the fund for the abatement.
This footbridge demolition is a precursor to the larger plan for the demolition of the full Strathmore mill complex at 20 Canal St., which has roughly $10 million set aside for the work between a $4.92 million federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and $5 million from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
While town officials had previously hoped that demolition of the Strathmore mill itself might be completed this summer, engineering and cost hurdles have delayed this.
In April, the town authorized a $17,250 contract with Tighe & Bond to create an alternative demolition design for the former mill complex after it was determined that an initial estimate to demolish and completely rebuild a single building — Building 9 — would deplete the full $10 million budget for the project at the 1.3-acre riverfront property. The second demolition design option presented in April entailed a $7 million price tag to demolish 10 buildings at the complex and stabilize Building 9, which houses the privately owned hydroelectric turbine operated by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy.
The $17,250 contract, paid for using part of the $5 million that was allocated to the project by DCR, allows the town and engineers with Tighe & Bond to explore demolition and redevelopment designs that are more feasible in terms of cost.
The Strathmore mill complex, a former paper mill along the Connecticut River, was built in 1871 and expanded on through 1970. The mill ceased manufacturing in 1994.
A 2007 fire, determined to be arson, destroyed Building 10 and damaged two other buildings. Montague acquired the site for redevelopment in February 2010, but due to the complex’s deteriorating nature and presence of contaminants in the buildings, the town must demolish it before any work can be done.
