NORTH ADAMS -- After years of piecemeal repairs, the state Department of Transportation will begin a full resurfacing of the Anthony J. Sacco Memorial Bridge on Monday.
The 320-foot-long bridge, which spans the Hoosic River near the Northern Berkshire YMCA on State Road, was originally slated for resurfacing in 2014, but state officials recently bumped the project up.
"This is such welcome news," Mayor Richard J. Alcombright said Wednesday. "I've been talking with our MassDOT District 1 officials for a few months about this project and I just have to thank all of our good friends in District 1, along with MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey and Highway Administrator Frank DePaolo. They have been very good to the city over the years and this just validates their commitment to the city and to Northern Berkshire."
According to MassDOT spokesman Michael Verseckes, repairs to the bridge, which was built in 1959, were accelerated under a district-wide bridge repair contract, which allows for necessary work to be "performed on short notice without going through a lengthy bidding process."
"The plan for the Sacco Bridge includes concrete repairs, followed by a diamond grinding of the entire bridge deck, which will remove any imperfections in elevation," he said in an email Wednesday. "Last, a waterproof sealer will be applied and then it will be paved over."
The entire process is expected to take six weeks, during which time it is
The bridge was first identified by the state for repairs in 1999 and is slated for a full deck replacement in 2017, along with the Greylock Bridge, near West's Liquors.
"The design of the bridge deck will continue on schedule, however, if the current repairs remain in a state of good repair, MassDOT will reassess the timing of the actual project," Verseckes said.
Alcombright said that whether the deck replacement would continue to be on the state's priority list was one of his first questions.
"I wanted to know if this was going to kill our project. I was told that if these repairs continue to hold, it might push the project out a little bit," he said. "I want people to understand that the state isn't just taking off a layer of blacktop and throwing another on. This microgrinding is going to go deeper and help them identify any repairs that need to be made, which will be fixed at that time. At the end of the day, if the state is convinced that it's structurally sound and in good repair, that's all we really need to care about."
In addition to repairs and resurfacing of the Sacco Bridge, Alcombright said the state will also be relining crosswalks on Route 2, running from the bridge to the Williamstown line.
"It's also my understanding that where appropriate, the state will replace the yellow crossing walk signs with the new fluorescent yellow signs. When its all done, we'll have a much safer corridor," the mayor said.
To reach Jennifer Huberdeau, email
jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.
Font Resize
