North Adams Bridge Being Resurfaced Ahead of Schedule
The Sacco Bridge is scheduled for repaving next week. |
Mayor Richard Alcombright announced on Wednesday that the state Department of Transportation has agreed to repair the concrete substructure and resurface the deck of the bridge that has withered into disrepair two years ahead of schedule.
"This has been six or seven months that I've been pushing for this. It was slated for resurfacing in 2014," Alcombright said on Wednesday. "This thing is in pretty poor shape."
Alcombright said MassDOT agreed to put it to bid recently but the decision to actually do the work wasn't finalized until Wednesday.
"This is such welcome news and I have to thank MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey, Highway Administrator Frank DePaola and all our good friends in the District 1 office who lobbied very hard for us. MassDOT has been very good to the City over the years and this once again validates their commitment to North Adams and North Berkshire," Alcombright said in a statement later on Wednesday. "I have been in contact with our District 1 DOT office on a very frequent basis regarding the condition of the Sacco Bridge deck. The deck was slated for resurfacing in the summer of 2014 however it was quite obvious that we could not wait that long. It is great to receive word that the work will begin on Monday Aug. 20 and will be completed before the end of the construction season."
The 1959 structure is scheduled for a $10 million reconstruction in 2017. The bridge was dedicated in 1999 to the late Anthony J. Sacco Sr.
The mayor also said two-way traffic will be able to continue throughout the construction period but that MassDOT will notify the city if there would be any other extraordinary delays.
"I'm told this is going to be smooth as silk," Alcombright said.
Tags: bridge, MassDOT, roadwork,