WHATELY — Residents can expect the Christian Lane bridge over Mill River to be reduced to one lane for “quite a few years,” according to Highway Superintendent Keith Bardwell.
Bardwell said that of the thousands of bridges in Massachusetts, several hundred are structurally deficient, which means the Christian Lane bridge is a low priority, even if it disrupts traffic.
“Unfortunately, Christian Lane, even with the lane closure, is not considered to be structurally deficient,” Bardwell told the Selectboard. “As the bridge deteriorates, or if anything does happen to it, it can leapfrog other bridges if the conditions warrant.”
According to a Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) database last updated on June 30, 2020, there are approximately 7,880 bridges in the state and 644 are deemed structurally deficient.
In fact, Whately’s State Road (Routes 5 and 10) overpass above Interstate 91, near Exit 32, was deemed structurally deficient by MassDOT, while the bridge over Mill River was not. That bridge continues to operate with two lanes of traffic. The federal government’s 2021 National Bridge Inventory also declares the State Road overpass to be in “poor” condition, while the bridge over the Mill River is designated as “fair.”
Bardwell said the town could “probably be looking at five to 10 years of a single-lane bridge on Christian Lane before it would even come close” to qualifying for state aid.
“I know that’s not what a lot of people like to hear,” Bardwell said. “That’s where it is in the eyes of the state.”
The Christian Lane bridge was reduced to one lane in October while its condition was assessed by engineers. Bardwell said the state found that the poles supporting the bridge on the upstream side of river have “deteriorated so bad at the water level that they don’t have the load-bearing capacity they should have.”
Selectboard Chair Jonathan Edwards asked if the bridge would qualify for grant funding through the Municipal Small Bridge Program, which helps fund bridges smaller than 20 feet across. Bardwell replied that the bridge is too long to qualify. The Christian Lane bridge over Mill River is 75.5 feet across, according to the federal government’s database.
Bardwell said the town is not in the position to spend “in excess of $1 million” to fund an engineering study and possible repairs at this point. He said there are “possibilities” that the state may move to increase bridge aid as the federal government pours more money into infrastructure, but residents will have to “wait until the state says it’s eligible for replacement.”