Public Hearing Set on Pittsfield's Pontoosuc Bridge Project

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state Department of Transportation is holding a public hearing on the replacement of the Pontoosuc Avenue bridge. 
 
The in-person hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 9, at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers. 
 
 Located next to the former Harry's Supermarket, the bridge extends over the West Branch of the Housatonic River and provides access from North Street to Wahconah Street.
 
The proposed recommendation is a full replacement founded on deep foundations with the existing substructure removed in its entirety. The proposed bridge and approach roadways will provide a minimum of 5-foot sidewalks.
 
The bridge will be closed to all modes of transportation during construction. A temporary pedestrian bridge and vehicle detour are required to provide adequate accessibility accommodations. 
 
The detour will use Briggs Avenue for through traffic between Wahconah Street and Pontoosuc Avenue.
 
The bridge has been in poor condition for a decade. The $9.8 million project will be funded through the 2026 Transportation Improvement Program for the Berkshire Metropolitan Planning Organization. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2026 and take a year.
 
More information can be found here.
 

Tags: bridge project,   MassDOT,   public hearing,   

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Pittsfield 12-Year-Olds Win District 1 Little League Title

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
DALTON, Mass. – It took a total team effort for the Pittsfield Little League 12-year-old All-Stars to claim an 11-0 win over Adams-Cheshire in Wednesday’s Don Gleason District 1 Championship Game.
 
And that is exactly what it got as Shaun Boehm hit a pair of triples, and Carmelo Coco went 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of RBIs to help send Pittsfield into next week’s Section 1 tournament, one step away from the state tourney.
 
The defending champs collected 10 hits – just two of them came from the first four hitters in its 12-player lineup.
 
“I let these guys know, they’re not like any other team,” Adams-Cheshire coach Steve Albareda said of Pittsfield. “One through 12 against some other teams, when you get to [hitters] six, seven, eight – you’re going to get those guys out. Pittsfield, they’re one through 12 stacked.
 
“And I told them, OK, you get two, three, four out, whatever it is, six, seven, eight is gonna burn you if you don’t stay the course.”
 
Not that one through four can’t, mind you. But if pitchers do limit the damage at the top of the order – as Adams’s Lador Lawson and Maddox Milesi did on Wednesday night – a mine field awaits.
 
“The kids asked me today if there were any changes to the lineup, and I was sitting there and I was pondering,” Pittsfield coach Joe Skutnik said. “And I said, ‘You know what? We’ve been hitting the ball all tournament. Why would I change anything?’
 
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