Selectboard approves hold on repairs to industrial park entrance

Following the Vermont Department of Transportation’s recommendation that the bridge and culvert at the intersection of Main Street and County Road be repaired “as soon as possible,” the Springfield Selectboard voted unanimously.

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2016-06-14 / Front Page Selectboard approves hold on repairs to industrial park entrance By Tory Jones Bonenfant toryb@eagletimes.com Tractor-trailers were entering County Road on Monday night, June 13, through the main entrance at the intersection of Main Street and County Road in Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Tractor-trailers were entering County Road on Monday night, June 13, through the main entrance at the intersection of Main Street and County Road in Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — Following the Vermont Department of Transportation’s recommendation that the bridge and culvert at the intersection of Main Street and County Road be repaired “as soon as possible,” according to a letter from VDOT to the town, the Springfield Selectboard voted unanimously on Monday to reply to the state that it will complete an engineering study by the end of the year, and then decide if the culvert will be repaired or abandoned. “This culvert has lived its useful life and may not need to be repaired or replaced,” said Town Manager Tom Yennerell. An alternative to repairing the bridge would be to use another entrance as the main entrance to the North Springfield Industrial Park on Precision Drive, according to Yennerell. Following a federal national bridge inspection that occurs every two years, Pamela Thurber, Bridge Inspection and Budget Program Manager for the Vermont Agency of Transportation - Highway Division, sent a letter on April 28 to Selectboard Chair Kristi Morris stating that Bridge No. 82 on TH 12, a corrugated, galvanized, multi-plate pipe arch Class 3 bridge spanning Great Brook, would require repairs. “The invert has failed, large sections have rotted out leaving depressions and undermining that ranges from one foot to two feet,” she wrote. The culvert, which is large enough to drive a truck through, does have damage, he said. “In the last inspections, they found the base of the culvert had large holes and was weeping and piping water through it, which means there is erosion,” he said. With the condition the bridge was in, the transportation agency asked the town what they were going to do about it, and suggested a concrete base, he said. It was formerly a dead-end road, but for the past 30 years has served as the main entrance to the industrial park, he said. The bridge is flat and resembles the rest of the nearby highway from above except for a wooden railing. Truck and car drivers were using it frequently on Monday evening. “Failure to comply with the recommendations may compromise public safety, result in additional damage, and / or substantially reduce the service life of the structure,” Thurber wrote in the letter to the town. Yennerell said that the board has presented a solution to the state, for the time being, and that he does not think the bridge is an immediate danger to drivers. The lead time for repairs is generally about a year for this type of repair, which is why the state is addressing it now, he said. Yennerell also said the town has hired an engineer to complete a study on two other viable alternative routes into the industrial park, and will have a plan in place by the end of the year, following the study. Yennerell said the town would send a decision to the state when it has completed the engineering study. The board approved the town manager’s reply to the state 5-0. Published June 18, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Springfield seeks to postpone culvert repairs By SUSAN SMALLHEER SPRINGFIELD — A giant culvert at the intersection of County Road and Main Street in North Springfield has seriously deteriorated and needs attention, according to a recent bridge inspection by the state Agency of Transportation. But the town wants to push back any repairs as it investigates a new main access to the North Springfield Industrial Park. Town Manager Tom Yennerell said the culvert, which he said was big enough for a tractor-trailer to drive through, was recently inspected by the state, which discovered serious deterioration at the bottom of the culvert. If the culvert ever collapsed, Yennerell said, it would mean the main access road to the industrial park would be closed. The Select Board voted Monday night to send a letter to the state explaining the town’s stand, along with a polite refusal to do the work requested. Yennerell said the culvert, which constitutes a bridge over The Great Brook in North Springfield, is currently the subject of an engineering study by the town, which had recently voted to make a new access to the industrial park a top economic development priority. But Yennerell said a completely new access road, like the one proposed by Winstanley Enterprises several years ago as part of the incentive package to win town approval of its proposed wood-energy plant, was too expensive. The access road proposed by Winstanley would have been needed for the new truck traffic bringing wood chips to the wood-fired plant, Yennerell said. The project was ultimately turned down by the Public Service Board. Yennerell said the town will know a lot more about traffic patterns and access needs in North Springfield by the end of the year, when the engineering report will be completed. At that point, he said, the town will know “if the culvert will be repaired, abandoned or some other alternative currently unknown.” In a letter to the agency, the town manager pointed out that County Road was previously a dead end and it was improved with the culvert about 30 years ago to make it the main entrance to the industrial park. “There are two other potential entrances to the industrial park that would also require improvements to become the main entrance to the park,” he added.