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Oct 14, 2024

After years of waiting, Cheshire's Sandmill bridge replacement project is one step closer to getting started | Northern Berkshires | berkshireeagle.com

Reporter A view of the reconstruction of the Sandmill Bridge on Sandmill Road in Cheshire looking West toward Mount Greylock. Stay up to date on Berkshires news with Berkshires in Brief, our free

Reporter

A view of the reconstruction of the Sandmill Bridge on Sandmill Road in Cheshire looking West toward Mount Greylock.

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CHESHIRE — A long-awaited bridge replacement in town is almost underway.

The final cost for the Sandmill bridge project and the contractor doing the work has been firmed up, putting the bridge running over Dry Brook one step closer to reopening.

This detour sign at the intersection of Sandmill Road and Fales Road in Cheshire directs drivers around the bridge closure.

According to MassDOT records of its highway projects, the construction contract is 18 percent complete, and the project is indeed in the construction phase, though work at the site isn’t obvious yet.

Replacing the Sandmill bridge, which has been closed to traffic since the end of August, will cost $3.92 million total. Contractor J.H. Maxymillian out of Pittsfield was chosen to complete the project.

Located on Sandmill Road, the bridge closed in 2015 after MassDOT discovered concrete and steel deterioration, and was later repaired in 2017 so residents could drive on it. Since, the state coordinated with the town and other stakeholders to plan the replacement project, then went through the competitive bidding period.

A view of the reconstruction of the Sandmill Bridge on Sandmill Road in Cheshire looking East shows construction vehicles and heavy equipment.

MassDOT could not be reached for comment on Monday.

The state is shouldering about $785,000 of the cost; the remaining roughly $3,141,000 will be covered by the federal government. In 2022, while still in the planning portion of the endeavor, the original estimate for replacing the bridge was $1.6 million.

The town referred The Eagle to J.H. Maxymillian for comment about the project's timetable for completion, but the contractor did not return a request for comment.

The state is in the midst of a concerted effort worth more than $3 billion to repair bridges across the commonwealth. Closed bridges are a common issue in the Berkshires, as bridges age out after decades of often no maintenance or repairs by towns struggling to keep taxes down.

This detour sign at the intersection of Henry Wood Road and Route 116 in Cheshire directs drivers around the bridge closure.

The Sandmill bridge project is paid for by a federally funded state program, the 2024 Transportation Improvement Program for the Berkshire Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Part of the project will be to widen the new bridge, and to include shoulders/travel lanes on both sides.

Sten Spinella can be reached at [email protected] or 860-853-0085.

Cheshire bridge needs repair work, and soon

The city-owned Veterans Memorial Bridge could be demolished or repaired following the recent designation by the state of the bridge's structural deficiency. “It’s a grave concern,” Mayor Jennifer Macksey said.

It looks like a temporary bridge might still be a possibility for the Brookside Road bridge. Otherwise, it will take eight years before drivers can cross the river at Brookside.

Reporter