Several residents have signed a letter to MassDOT issuing concerns about a lack of weight limits on the temporary Division Street bridge.
Great Barrington — Several town residents have signed a letter expressing concerns about the Division Street bridge.
The bridge is scheduled to reopen in September according to Town Manager Mark Pruhenski.
Instead of a permanent bridge, a prefabricated bridge will be used as a temporary replacement.
In a previous interview, Pruhenski said that the bridge has a 20-year lifespan, and will be used until the town receives either federal or state funds for a permanent replacement.
While the bridge is several weeks away from reopening, resident Michelle Loubert, who lives in the vicinity of the bridge, is concerned with the potential of weight limit laws being unenforced for the bridge.
Loubert recently sent a letter to the state’s Department of Transportation that was co-signed by nine other residents who live in the vicinity.
She sent a copy of her letter to The Berkshire Edge that was sent to MassDOT on July 1.
“At the time of the bridge closure, the bridge weight limit was 15 tons [for a single unit truck], 19 tons [for a standard semi-truck], and 29 tons [for a combination truck],” Loubert wrote. “Prior to its closure, I communicated with MassDOT expressing my concerns regarding overweight trucks using the bridge, some exceeding the weight limit. Not only that, but the town was also detouring trucks to the bridge. I expressed my concerns about truck traffic, unenforced weight limits, and speed in the town. It is my opinion that the town, by not enforcing the weight limits at the time and detouring large trucks over the bridge, accelerated the bridge’s failure and ultimate closure.”
Loubert wrote that “I don’t think anyone will argue that a bridge is needed.”
“However, I personally question the scope and size of the bridge being brought into this residential area,” she wrote. “I was especially taken aback when the owner of a nearby business which utilizes massive trucks for car carriers told me that he had been told by the town manager to direct his trucks over Division Street.”
In the letter, Loubert wrote that she contacted Town Manager Pruhenski on June 16 and was taken out of context by the business owner.
“I was then told that there would be no weight limit on this temporary bridge span,” Loubert wrote. “As someone who follows town board meetings closely, I do not recall that at any time when the temporary bridge was discussed it was stated there would be no weight limit. This means that trucks of any size will be traveling over the bridge, through this family neighborhood.”
Loubert wrote that she has discussed this issue with several of her neighbors.
“It is our concern that Division Street, populated by families, will now become Great Barrington’s truck corridor,” she wrote. “This is unacceptable. I truly believe that no weight limit combined with the historical issue of excessive speed of vehicles on Division Street is a tragedy waiting to happen.”
Loubert added a request for MassDOT to review whether or not the bridge needed a weight limit.
During the public comments portion of the Select Board’s regular meeting on Monday, July 25, Loubert brought up the subjects of the letter and called Town Manager Pruhenski and the board “disrespectful” for not responding to her.
“We’re not being disrespectful, we’re waiting to hear from the state because they are the experts in the field,” Select Board Chairman Stephen Bannon told Loubert.
Loubert added that she has filed a public records request from January 2018 to mid-July for information on all vehicle accidents on Division Street.
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