Update, 3:32 p.m.. Monday, Feb. 24: The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has rescheduled the closure of the New Road Bridge over the West Branch of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield for Wednesday, Feb. 26. A closure previously announced was to begin Monday morning but was postponed. 

 

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The replacement of the New Road Bridge will take place over the next year.

 

Beginning Monday, Feb. 24, the bridge will be closed and traffic will be detoured over Keeler Street to reach Mill Drive and Chatham Street. The bridge is anticipated to be reopened to traffic in late fall.

 

The $1.7 million state Department of Transportation project will remove the temporary span installed in the 1990s over the failed culvert for the West Branch of the Housatonic River. 

 

The new 67-foot single-span precast, prestressed concrete NEXT, or Northeast Extreme Tee, beam superstructure will be supported by a cast-in-place reinforced concrete abutments. The new bridge will also be wider with a 28-foot roadway width providing two 10-foot-wide traffic lanes and two 4-foot-wide shoulders that will also accommodate pedestrians. 

 

Roadway work includes the construction of full-depth asphalt pavement for approximately 134 feet of the westbound and 130 feet of the eastbound approach to the bridge. There will be no sidewalks on the bridge or approach roadways.

 

Those traveling through the area should expect delays, reduce speed, and use caution. Appropriate signage and messaging will be in place to inform drivers of work occurring in the area.