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The new Dalton ambulance has arrived and now has to be customized with decals and lettering.

Dalton Fire District Ambulance Arrives

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Fire District's new ambulance has arrived and is anticipated to be in service by March 1 as an Advanced Life Support unit.
 
The new apparatus arrived in basic white so still needs its decals and lettering put on and to be outfitted with supplies.
 
In December, district voters approved borrowing up to $350,000 to purchase a new ambulance and any related costs.
 
The district contracted RSI Signs in Pittsfield to complete the 2024 Ford F450 Road Rescue Ambulance decals. 
 
The department is still using its 2019 Ford Econoline for calls until the new apparatus is ready to be put in service.
 
The Fire Department has two ambulances: a 2019 Ford Econoline and a 2016 International. During several meetings, it was demonstrated that both vehicles needed to be replaced because of their deteriorating condition. 
 
The district will be trading in both vehicles. According to previous comments from the district, the Ford has a trade-in value of $30,000 and the International $2,500. 
 
All the paperwork to trade in the vehicles has been completed, District Clerk and Treasurer Melanie Roucoulet said. 
 
The district got a loan from Greenfield Co-op with a 4.75 interest rate, which could go down in following years. 

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Lee: 3 Miles of Route 20 Being Repaved Next Year

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

LEE, Mass. — Beginning next year, the state will repave three miles of Route 20 and reinforce two bridges, one over the Massachusetts Turnpike. 

Last week, the state Department of Transportation held a virtual design public hearing for the project. In addition to milling and resurfacing of the route, bridge structures L-05-024 (over Greenwater Brook) and L-05-052 (over I-90) will see maintenance repairs. 

"We just wanted to thank MassDOT for doing this project. We're very supportive of having the road redone and appreciate the work on it," Town Administrator Christopher Brittain said. 

"The town of Lee is looking forward to having the road repaved." 

Construction will begin in the spring of 2027.  

Traffic will be maintained with short-term flagging operations, and steel plates will conceal deck patching over Greenwater Brook. There will be staged construction on the bridge over the highway, with a single alternating travel lane controlled by a temporary signal. 

The project is estimated to cost $6.8 million, 90 percent from the federal government and 10 percent from the state; it is in the FY26 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. 

The hearing included public information on activities and rights-of-way needs for tree trimming, new utility poles, grading, drainage swales, and a driveway apron along the project corridor, items identified during the late design phases. 

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