DEERFIELD — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently unveiled preliminary plans for the replacement of the Stillwater Bridge in 2026, which call for making the 73-year-old structure 5 feet wider.
The replacement will expand the bridge’s overall width to 35 feet, 5 inches wide, and comes at a time when critical aspects of the bridge, such as its piers, bearings and steel beams, are deteriorating to the point that its load-bearing capacity has been reduced, state officials said at a so-called 25% design public hearing.
The approximately $23 million project is expected to be covered by $18 million in federal money and $4.5 million from Massachusetts through the State Transportation Improvement Program.
While the Stillwater Bridge — referred to as the “Upper Road Bridge over Deerfield River” by state documents — is still structurally sound, Project Manager Christopher Cameron said “high-flooding events like Hurricane Irene” have damaged the bridge over the years and its width is “substandard.”
“Our goal in replacing the existing Stillwater Bridge is to provide the community with a new structure designed to all the current standards that better serves the needs of the local community,” Cameron said.
Along with the bridge structure work, the project will bring the overhead wires onto the bridge to improve access to them and will also adjust the northern approach at the intersection of Upper and Lower roads to increase visibility for drivers.
Cameron said the Stillwater Bridge was placed on the State Transportation Improvement Program list in 2018 and the 25% design discussed was submitted in July. A 75% design scheme is expected in summer 2023 and a final design is expected in the fall of the same year. Advertisement for contractors to bid on the project is expected three years later in summer 2026 and construction is expected to take approximately three years because MassDOT will be conduct one-lane, alternating construction to ensure the bridge does not completely close for long periods of time. There will be times, Cameron noted, where the bridge may close for portions of a day because of crane work.
“The reason for the lag between final design and advertisement is based on both the availability of funding and allowing adequate time for permitting and the right-of-way process,” Cameron said.
The use of alternating lane closures was welcome news for Select Board members Trevor McDaniel and Carolyn Shores Ness because the effects of fully closing the bridge would be “horrible” for residents, farmers and first responders in the neighborhood, they said.
“If this bridge was closed down completely for three years, it would have a tremendous impact on people who are living on Upper Road and Lower Road,” Shores Ness said at the meeting. “Thank you very, very much for doing that. I know it was incredibly more expensive to do that, but I appreciate it.”
At the hearing, the focus was on the design of the bridge because the project is still in the early stages. Jim Perry, president of the Deerfield River Watershed Association, asked how recreational access to the river — as well as its effects on the river, like erosion — has been considered in the design. MassDOT officials said they are still holding discussions with local stakeholders to determine how to address them.
For Shores Ness, a longtime Select Board member, the replacement of the Stillwater Bridge will be two decades in the making by the time the project breaks ground. Before Irene ripped through the county in 2011, the bridge suffered damage in 2005 and 2009.
In October 2016, MassDOT closed the bridge after an inspection found the underwater portions of one of the bridge’s pier had suffered serious scour damage from the river that could have potentially failed if left unaddressed. The bridge closed for more than a month as MassDOT divers worked to repair the damage.
“It’s been a huge struggle, but I have to say, DOT has been stepping up to the plate,” Shores Ness said by phone Wednesday.
MassDOT’s proposal for the project can be found online at bit.ly/3W06H5S. Written or emailed comments on the project to be included on the hearing transcript will be accepted as long as they are submitted or postmarked by Dec. 23. Emails may be addressed to Carrie A. Lavallee, P.E., Chief Engineer at Dot.feedback.highway@state.ma.us.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.