Clement St. Bridge Closed
Wed., Aug 29 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/10/07
Contact: Edward Huntley, Department of Public Works, 587-1570
State officials from the Massachusetts Highway Department have instructed the City of Northampton to close the Clement Street Bridge to traffic until repairs are made, a process which may take up to a year to complete. In the aftermath of the catastrophic bridge failure in Minneapolis earlier this month, the Commonwealth has redoubled efforts to examine bridges throughout the state.
The Massachusetts Highway Department, Bridges and Structure Division contacted the City of Northampton today to close the bridge on Clement Street until further notice after inspection and re-evaluation determined that the bridge is deemed structurally deficient due to the fracture of critical tension members. The Northampton Department of Public Works is currently working with the Consulting Engineering firm, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. to design and implement the required repairs as soon as possible. The City had set aside funds in its Capital Improvements plan to make repairs to the iron truss bridge, which is listed as an Historic Bridge in Hampshire County.
Immediate bridge neighbors are being informed of the closure this afternoon through the distribution of hand leaflets before Mass Highway moves in to formally barricade the bridge. Mayor Higgins spoke to City Councilors by phone as soon as she received the news from DPW Director Ned Huntley. “This closure will certainly bring inconvenience to some residents and small businesses in the neighborhood, but I think the lessons we have learned recently point to the value of working proactively to ensure public safety. We have known that the bridge would need repairs, we included it in our Capital Improvements Plan which the City Council funded. Unfortunately, construction cannot begin until next spring and is expected to be complete by next fall.” The city had hoped to keep the bridge open until construction began, but today’s notice from Mass Highway makes that impossible.
Massachusetts Highway Department crews are working with DPW crews this afternoon to secure the bridge and encourage people to find an alternate route through the neighborhood while the city works to design, engineer and complete all necessary repairs.