Bridge inspections puzzle Springfield

State inspections of several Springfield bridges -- some just rebuilt -- have town officials scratching their heads.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120411/NEWS02/704119885

Published April 11, 2012 in the Rutland Herald
Bridge inspections puzzle Springfield

By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD — Inspection reports from the Agency of Transportation for some of the town’s bridges have the Springfield Select Board scratching their collective heads.

The Community Center Bridge, which was rebuilt by the state during the summer of 2009 at a cost of $2.8 million, already has problems and a lower rating than some 75-year-old bridges in town.

Springfield Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris noted that the state bridge inspectors had found problems with the Community Center Bridge’s pier, and asked why the pier hadn’t been repaired.

“This structure is in good to satisfactory condition. The pier is in satisfactory condition and should have been repaired during construction,” according to the structure inspection, inventory and appraisal sheet from the Agency of Transportation.

Harry Henderson, Springfield public works director, said he has a call in for an explanation of the pier problem, but so far hasn’t received any answers.

The bridge was built in 1949, and was virtually rebuilt in 2009, but it only has a sufficiency rating of 84, said Town Manager Robert Forguites.

The Harry Hill Bridge in North Springfield, which is slated for demolition and rebuilding this summer, has a rating of 90, Forguites said. The Paddock Bridge, which was also recently rebuilt, has a sufficiency rating of 74, he said.

The Park Street Bridge, which is in visibly poor repair, has a rating of 86, he said. “That is higher than the two that were just rehabilitated,” he said.

Henderson said the Community Center Bridge was designed by the state, built by a state contractor, and paid for largely with federal money, with a 5 percent local match.

A year and a half later, the state is finding fault with its own work, he said.

Morris said the substructure of the bridge, which is new, was only rated “satisfactory.”

“It’s a new bridge,” said Selectman Michael Knoras.

Henderson said 17 bridges were inspected by the state, post Tropical Storm Irene. The town was spared most damage from Irene, thanks in large part to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control dam in North Springfield.

Other bridges in Springfield of major concern and the Park Street Bridge and the McDonald’s Bridge on Route 11.

Henderson rated the McDonald’s Bridge, which is located over the Black River near Riverside Middle School and McDonald’s restaurant, as the most critical to the town and in the worst condition.

“I bet 4,000 vehicles cross this bridge every day,” Henderson said during a quick visit to the bridge Tuesday.

Henderson said the public works crew has done interim repairs to the bridge, but he said it needed a major overhaul. “It’s our entire east-west connection,” he said.

The concrete is deteriorating due to salt from winter road maintenance.

He said the McDonald’s Bridge is on the state’s priority list for bridge repair, but he said it could be anywhere from five to 10 years before it gets major attention.

He said the bridge needs to have all the asphalt stripped off, and a new membrane laid and new rubber joints. One thing in its favor, he said, was that the bridge doesn’t vibrate when traffic crosses it. Such was not the case with the Community Center Bridge, which was rebuilt almost entirely.