LEICESTER - The town has received $500,000 in state funding to fix the Church Street bridge.
In July, the state Department of Transportation recommended closing the bridge after an inspection revealed cracks in the stone masonry slabs supporting the road.
The repairs are being funded by the Municipal Small Bridge Program, which was established to assist communities with replacing or preserving bridges with spans between 10 and 20 feet that are not eligible for federal aid under existing programs. The funding was announced by state Sen. Michael O. Moore, D-Millbury, and state Rep. Kate D. Campanale, R-Leicester.
“This project seeks to address a critical infrastructure problem within Cherry Valley,” Mr. Moore said. “The bridge was originally built nearly two centuries ago and those who travel through the area know all too well the need for its replacement."
VHB, which did the original bridge work, has been hired as consulting engineers. The original grant application was for the Auburn Street bridge, but it was changed because the Church Street bridge is in more dire need of replacement.
Selectman Douglas A. Belanger said if the Church Street Bridge went out of commission, it would affect the more than 100 households located on side streets in that area by creating burdensome detours for school buses and emergency vehicles.
“If you had to have a long-term detour, if the bridge was considered unsafe, which it was getting close to be, think of those delays you would have, as opposed to going directly to those homes,” Mr. Belanger said. “By the state stepping us up, it brings us up to right in front of the line.”