PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The city plans to replace a deteriorating bridge on Hancock Road over Daniels Brook. 

Last week, the Conservation Commission continued a notice of intent application for the project to its November meeting to get more information on water flow. 

"It's a great project. We like it. We just want to make sure it's done correctly as well," Commissioner Jonathan Lothrop explained. 

Pittsfield proposes replacing the crumbling bridge with a 17-foot-wide hydraulic span underneath to an embedded precast box culvert with a span of 26 feet. The .37 work area extends about 200 feet along Hancock Road, north of 615 Hancock Road.  

Contractors from Fuss & O'Neill presented to the commission. A budget was not provided. 

"I think overall, this is going to be a really great improvement for traffic traveling over this bridge and for wildlife living under this bridge," Natural Resources Scientist Megan Woytik said. 

The 1930 bridge is showing cracking, spalling, exposed steel supports, and section loss. It was determined that repairs would retain deteriorated components and yield fewer long-term benefits, while a full replacement also improves hydraulic capacity and aquatic organism passage. 

Engineers pointed to exposed, corroding reinforcement and an existing guardrail that is no longer embedded into the structure.  Rigid barriers were placed on either side of the road so that vehicles can't impact the rail.