Motorists asked to detour around town bridge work

The final work on the rebuilt Community Center Bridge on Main Street is expected to create a traffic headache for residents all next week, state and town officials warned.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100429/NEWS02/4290360/1003/NEWS02       # # # # Motorists asked to detour around town bridge work  •  Rutland Herald  •  By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: April 29, 2010  •  SPRINGFIELD — The final work on the rebuilt Community Center Bridge on Main Street is expected to create a traffic headache for residents all next week, state and town officials warned.  •  The bridge will be restricted to one lane of traffic, as crews put down a waterproof rubber membrane on the new deck and then pave it, said Roger Whitcomb, an engineer working for the Vermont Agency of Transportation on the project.  •  The bridge, which was built in 1949, was rebuilt last year at a cost of $2.1 million, with the state's contractor able to reuse the original abutments. All last construction season, the bridge work forced one-way traffic in the downtown area.  •  The one-way traffic pattern was too disruptive to return for just a week, said Town Manager Robert Forguites.  •  Whitcomb said the rubber membrane, which he said was essentially a roofing material, would be melted onto the deck to protect the bridge's new deck from the corrosive effects of winter road salt.  •  Whitcomb said the project was weather dependent, and if rain and cold temperatures returned, the work would be delayed. However, he said, the weather forecast was good for completion of the project by Cold River Bridge Co. of Walpole, N.H.  •  Forguites said local residents would know the best detours to avoid the foot of Main Street, where the bridge is. He said southbound traffic should go up Summer Street and down Bridge Street on their way to the southern half of the downtown area.  •  Northbound traffic should use Park and Mineral streets, he said.  •  Whitcomb said the project was finishing ahead of schedule. According to the state contract, Cold River has until June 26 to complete the project. Workers have been working on the new sidewalks on the bridge already this spring.  •  Whitcomb said there was some talk about getting the Springfield Police Department's flashing traffic sign reprogrammed with a message about avoiding Main Street next week.  •  "Most of the local people will know what to do," Whitcomb said. "We're not going to stop traffic altogether, but there are going to be long queues," he said.  •  He said he expected word would get out among truckers to avoid using Main Street in Springfield until the paving project is completed.  •