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The Select Board is hoping the dangerous unfinished pedestrian way at East Housatonic Street and Carson Avenue can be included in the proposed federal infrastructure bill.

Dalton Ponders Request for Infrastructure Bill

By Joe DurwiniBerkshires Correspondent
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DALTON, Mass. — Dalton is keen to get a deferred pedestrian bridge project in front of Congressman Richard Neal for possible inclusion in the anticipated federal infrastructure bill.
 
The pedestrian bridge at East Housatonic Street and Carson Avenue is an infrastructure need that was already drafted, but deleted from a previous federal road construction project completed a few years ago. Select Board member John Boyle proposed now is the time to revisit it.
 
Neal, who Boyle says has been "very conscientious about taking care of the western part of the district," is a key architect in the legislation, as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
 
The previous project, which was undertaken from 2014-2018, included the installation of a sidewalk that now dead ends abruptly at the bridge, forcing pedestrians to cross traffic dangerously.
 
"Obviously this is a very unhealthy situation," said Boyle. "In my mind, it's a disaster waiting to happen."
 
Boyle recommended that the town submit a presentation including the previous study and design work, along with traffic commission endorsement, and other narrative materials explaining the importance of the project to Dalton.
 
Member Joseph Diver was reserved about the proposal, questioning if other town projects, such as needed sewer reconstruction, might be higher priorities to pursue in this bill. Diver suggested this bill has "some hill to climb" yet, offering time for a more exploratory conversation with Neal's office.
 
"I think we need to move very quickly," disagreed Boyle. "Everyone in the country is going to be having the same thought."
 
He maintained that the pedestrian bridge option has the advantage of being essentially shovel-ready, with a great deal of costly engineering already completed.
 
Town Highway Superintendent John Roughly added that upfront engineering costs for any other major project would need to be paid by the town, and it's unlikely they'll be able to fund studying such a project in the immediate future.
 
"This looks like a good opportunity that we could get a little slice of that pie," said board member Dan Esko.
 
In the end, Esko and Chairman Robert Bishop favored having Boyle "begin the conversation" with Neal's office about submitting the bridge proposal.
 
One percent of the approximately $3 trillion 2021 Infrastructure Bill will be devoted to congressional earmarks.
 
In other town business, the Health Department will make final determinations on Tuesday about plans for reopening Town Hall on Monday, April 5. Dalton will be one of the first town halls in Berkshire County to return to in-person business this year, following re-surging numbers in the region beginning in the fall.
 
After discussing various options and locations, the Select Board has decided to continue to permit the informal, wooden ramp "skate park" located at Pine Grove Park, for the time being. It was clarified that the town is not liable for their use, since the structures are the property of the youth who set them up.
 
"I'd rather see them doing it there, than doing it out in the street," said Bishop.
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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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