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.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more