Route 5 near Oxbow will close for railroad work

NORTHAMPTON - A portion of Mount Tom Road (Route 5) in Northampton near the Easthampton border will be closed to all traffic for two days next week while work crews rebuild a railroad crossing. The closing will be in the area of Packaging Corporation of America south of Island Road, and is expected to last from 7 a.m. Tuesday, July 29, to about 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 30.

Southbound traffic from Northampton will be diverted either onto Interstate Route 91 or back downtown onto South Street (Route 10) into Easthampton.

Access to the Packaging Corp. plant will only be available from the south.

Pam Am Railways engineer Mike McDonough said the project will upgrade the "spur" track serving Packaging Corp. and should smooth the now bumpy crossing for car and truck traffic.