NORTHAMPTON — A new report by the Federal Highway Administration shows that 21 of Hampshire County’s 256 bridges are considered in “poor” condition and would require an estimated $89 million to fix.
What’s more, it would take an estimated $476 million to update all the bridges in need of repairs in the county, according to the federal data. The average age of the county’s bridges is 52 years, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
“Our infrastructure is falling apart and prices of stuff are going up and we cannot keep up,” said Huntington Highway Superintendent Charles Dazelle.
Huntington is home to one of the 21 bridges rated in poor condition but recently received $300,000 from the Municipal Small Bridge Program to fix it. The work is expected to be completed this summer.
Some towns in Hampshire County rely heavily on state aid, particularly on funding from the Chapter 90 program, which provides money for development and maintenance of roadways, bridges or other mass transportation infrastructure. However, these funds fall short of what is needed, making additional grants like the Municipal Small Bridge Program necessary.
In 2012, there were 472 “structurally deficient” bridges in the commonwealth, according to MassDOT, a figure that most recently stood at 465. In New England, varied seasonal weather and centuries-old cities make bridges and other infrastructure deteriorate faster than in other parts of the country, prompting greater urgency for repairs.
“You have to think about the climate here,” said Donna LaScaleia, director of the Northampton Department of Public Works. “Freezing and thawing and salt. There’s certainly degradation of the infrastructure that happens from the beating of the weather.”
According to MassDOT’s 2017-21 State Transportation Improvement Plan, the Pioneer Valley area is slated to receive about $117 million for transportation infrastructure improvements, or 10.8 percent of the funds available through the state improvement program. On top of that, the state provides additional funding through the Accelerated Bridge Program.
In March 2017, the state announced it would distribute an additional $16 million through the first round of Municipal Small Bridge Program funding awards, which will help more small towns like Huntington repair bridges not eligible for federal funding.
The Federal Highway Administration assesses the nation’s bridges annually using data gathered by states for the National Bridge Inventory. Data collected include statistics on the location, condition, history and estimated cost of repairs for every bridge over 20 feet in the country.
Under a new federal rating system implemented last year, FHWA replaced the category of “structurally deficient” with a three-tier rating system of good, fair or poor. A poor rating — formerly structurally deficient — means one or more components of the bridge needs repair, closer monitoring, or weight restrictions so that it does not become unsafe for public travel.
FHWA spokeswoman Nancy Singer said the change was made in the interests of plain language.
“A structurally deficient bridge means the bridge is in need of repair but not unsafe,” she said. “If the bridge is unsafe the bridge is closed.”
Of all bridges in Hampshire County, 14 are considered “basically intolerable, requiring high priority of corrective action,” according to MassDOT. Three of those bridges fall under state jurisdiction, including the north- and south-bound lanes of I-91 over Mount Tom Road (Route 5) in Northampton, a bridge on Bay Road in Hadley that received a recent temporary fix, and a bridge in Easthampton on Park Street crossing the Manhan Rail Trail.
Of the 44 bridges in Northampton, seven are rated poor by the federal standards. Among these are bridges on Clement Street, Old Springfield Road and two along Main Street in Leeds.
Northampton officials closed the Clement Street bridge in December after MassDOT found deficiencies in the structure. According to LaScaleia, the city will fund $300,000 worth of repairs to the bridge in the spring and reopen it this summer.
“We’ve done quite a bit of work on it in the past,” LaScaleia said. “This is obviously critical infrastructure and residents rely on us to maintain it.”
The bridge on Old Springfield Road is being assessed by MassDOT for a potential state-funded replacement in fiscal year 2022, according to LaScaleia. Contractors will begin bidding on a contract to replace the two I-91 bridges by the end of the year, according to MassDOT.
Under the state’s infrastructure reimbursement Chapter 90 program, Northampton received just over $1 million last year for roadway repairs, according to LaScaleia. Chapter 90 funds are distributed to municipalities throughout the state based on population size and miles of roadway.
“That’s very critical to us and how we pay for a lot of our roadway projects,” LaScaleia said.
According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan would shift more of the burden of infrastructure repair to the states and divert money from Chapter 90 MassWorks and other aid programs.
“Right now we are going ahead and doing our work as though our federal funding will continue at the levels Congress has authorized,” said MassDOT spokesman Patrick Marvin. “If revenue sources change then we have a process by which we will be back before the MassDOT Board and will make any updates and adjustments as needed.”
In Huntington, a bridge on Searle Road was reduced to one lane after inspectors found it to be in poor condition last year. Several hundred people live on the other side of the bridge, according to Dazelle, and the town did not have the funds to replace it promptly. In April, the $300,000 grant to fix it came in after the town applied to the state’s Municipal Small Bridge Program.
Huntington receives about $163,000 per year from Chapter 90.
“With just the Chapter 90 money it would have been tough to take two years and not fix any other roads,” Dazelle said. “If we closed it, it would stop fuel heating, groceries, lots of stuff. Several families would be out of commission.”
Huntington was one of three Hilltown communities to receive a portion of the $21.2 million in funds distributed by the Municipal Small Bridge Program since it began in August 2016. Worthington received $500,000 to replace a bridge on Adams Road and Chesterfield received $250,000 to rehabilitate a bridge on Ireland Street.
“Regardless of ownership, whether it’s a county bridge or whether it’s a bridge in a city, the state can make a decision on where to use federal funding to fix it,” the FHWA’s Singer said. “It’s a priority to make sure that this is done and that bridges get inspected regularly and done in a thorough manner.”
Outside of grants and Chapter 90 aid, the state provides money for other bridge repair projects it considers high priorities. In Amherst, the Mill Street bridge has been closed for four years and is now receiving state funding to fix it, according to Amherst Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring. The state plans to replace the 100-plus-year-old bridge in the spring at a cost of $2.9 million, according to MassDOT.
“The bridge is important for local traffic and will be part of some traffic changes coming to the area,” Mooring wrote in an email.
In the rural parts of western Massachusetts, bridge closures can mean excessive detours as well as delays for emergency services.
MassDOT is assessing a bridge known locally as the Skinny Bridge on Kings Highway in Westhampton for design and repairs to be paid for by the state. The one-lane bridge was closed for four days in December for bedrock and soil assessments, said Westhampon Highway Department Superintendent David Blakesley.
“Once they close it, the detour route is 4 miles around and involves a lot of steep hill terrain with some dirt roads,” Blakesley said. “That’s why we want to keep (closure times) to a minimum.”
Blakesley said the road will be two lanes once work is completed and hopes work will begin next spring. He said at least 30 homes would be affected by the temporary closure.
“The towns just don’t have the funds to do it,” he said. “We appreciate the fact that the DOT recognizes the bridge is structurally deficient.”
An essential bridge on Bay Road in Hadley is scheduled for a complete replacement in 2021, according to Marlo Warner, director of public works. Over the summer, the bridge was reduced to one lane for temporary repairs, causing traffic backups and complications for snow plows and emergency response vehicles.
“Bay Road is one of the main arteries in and out of Hadley,” Warner said. “It will be interesting to do the complete replacement and have the whole bridge out. I don’t think they’re going to have enough room for a temporary bridge.”
Over the summer, the bridge was posted with a 3-ton weight limit and the town had to apply for special permits to allow fire trucks across before temporary repairs were completed in October, Warner said.
In Belchertown, a state-run bridge on Wilson Street has been closed for over a decade and is scheduled for demolition, according to Public Works Director Steve Williams.
And the town of Ware funded a $325,000 culvert repair last fall to a small bridge, according to Richard Kilhart, director of Public Works.
“There’s absolutely an awareness from the city level and the state level that this is critical infrastructure and it’s a tremendous responsibility for all of of us,” LaScaleia said. “The public relies on us to maintain and reconstruct bridges.”
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com