Pittsfield Councilors Push for Answers on Dalton Ave. Bridge
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said Pittsfield needs to stay on top of the state concerning the progress of the Dalton Avenue bridge repair.
The project is in the design phase and does not yet have a funding source or an advertisement date. Meanwhile, the bridge's side walls seem to be crumbling and require barriers on one side.
Last week, the Public Works administration Utilities subcommittee mulled a response from the state Department of Transportation about the bridge repair project.
Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham and Warren petitioned for an update on the bridge, which has a slimmed right travel lane from barriers placed in front of the bridge wall due to degradation.
"The point is, we need to stay on top of it," Warren said.
"Maybe the state has to do it, but we need to keep prodding them, because I think that's one of the biggest bridges in the city, and if it's not, it's one of the most important, because it leads to our commercial, our major commercial area."
MassDOT's District 1 bridge engineer Mark Devylder, at the end of April, communicated that the project is being combined with the Pittsfield/Dalton Avenue connection to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail and accessibility improvements.
There will be another scoping session to kick off the project, which he assumes Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales or City Engineer Tyler Shedd will be invited to. Devylder also reported that there is no funding source or advertisement date identified yet.
According to the MassDOT's website, the bridge replacement over the Ashuwillticook bike trail is in the preliminary design phase and will cost more than $9 million.
The Dalton Avenue bridge is a major route for city residents and commuters.
Cunningham said he drives over the bridge almost daily and has noticed it can be hard to navigate without going into the other lane.
"I don't know if that'd be kind of within our purview to narrow the lanes until they figure this out," he said.
"But at the speed of government, this could take over a year, I'd assume, until they even touch it, so it's something I think we should look at."
A resident suggested removing the bridge entirely, Cunningham reported, because there is no longer a train running underneath.
"Could it help with speeding down there? I don't generally think so," he added.
"I think the bridge may even slow people down, but is the idea of removing it cheaper and quicker and safer? Possibly. Just two things to float out there."
Warren explained that he and Cunningham wanted to be ahead of the game, pointing to the Holmes Road bridge that had a lane closed for four years and was fully closed for more than 60 days during reconstruction in 2024.
He said he walks the rail trail under the bridge daily, and while there is netting to catch falling debris, he said there are some rocks on the ground.
"I don't know if they got there before that netting was put up, but it's clear that that bridge is deteriorating," he added.
"If I recall right, I think it was built in the 1930s as part of all the different works that were done at that time. It is really deteriorating, so I wanted to keep it on the radar. I wanted the public to know, my constituents know that we are not falling behind. We're on top of this."
Warren said they will have to revisit this periodically between now and when the state begins repairs.
Tags: bridge work, MassDOT,
