ERVING — Public input on the future of the Church Street bridge will likely be sought this summer, after a study this spring determines the exact state of the bridge.
The bridge was found to be structurally deficient in an inspection by the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) late last year. MassDOT still has not yet ordered any traffic changes to the bridge, but Administrative Coordinator Bryan Smith said he definitely expects to receive such an order sooner or later.
Based on informal conversations with MassDOT representatives, Smith said, the bridge will likely require new traffic limits, such as being changed to one-way. However, the town may also opt to use a traffic light to make the bridge alternating one way at a time, or just close the bridge completely.
In the longer term, the town is also considering repairing or replacing the bridge. An engineering firm has been hired to evaluate the structure and come up with a repair or replacement plan. Smith said that study will likely be finished by the end of May.
In preliminary evaluations, Smith said, engineers have suspected that a repair might not be feasible, and that a full replacement might be more appropriate.
Alternatively, the bridge could also be removed entirely, if the town decides that repair or replacement are not worthwhile, Smith said.
Determining which option to pursue will be informed by public forums after the initial engineering work is finished, probably early this summer, Smith said.
“We definitely want to make sure that as many of the different consequences of each decision have been thought about,” Smith said.
If there is a strong consensus in favor of replacing the bridge, it should be possible to do the construction next summer, Smith said. A proper construction plan would be commissioned this summer, and Town Meeting voters would be asked, sometime in the next 12 months, to pursue construction.
A full replacement would take about four to six months, and could be completed within one construction season, Smith said. A cost estimate for the project is not available yet, but he said it is expected to be at least $1 million.
Reach Max Marcus at
mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.