Public Meeting Notice  Fall River – Jefferson Street over Sucker Brook bridge replacement

A virtual design public hearing will be hosted on the MassDOT website below to present the design for the proposed project in Fall River, MA.

Purpose:

The purpose of this hearing is to provide the public with the opportunity to become fully acquainted with the proposed project.  All views and comments submitted in response to the hearing will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.

Proposal:

The proposed purpose of the project is to address the structurally deficient bridge, which will continue providing multiple access points for vehicular traffic and more importantly emergency responders to the industrial park on the other side of Sucker Brook. This project involves careful consideration and balancing of multiple environmental, functional, and cost constraints.

The project replaces the existing one-lane bridge with a two-lane bridge. Replaces the existing failing retaining wall, including the addition of a new sidewalk, and reconstruction of the roadway approaches.

The proposed project consists of Bicycles accommodation by way of proposed 2’ wide shoulders. Providing 5' shoulders on both sides of the roadway was evaluated as it would provide the greatest safety for bicyclists. However, adding an additional 3' of shoulder on the west side (right side) of the roadway increases impacts to the wetland along the side of the road which is also the floodplain for Sucker Brook. The narrower 2’ wide shoulder was chosen to minimize environmental impacts to the maximum extent feasible while still providing some usable space for bicyclists.

The project also proposes adding a 6-foot sidewalk to one side of the road in an area of relatively low pedestrian usage. Both sides of the roadway was evaluated but not proposed due to increased impacts to the adjacent wetland and floodplain along the west (right) side of the roadway.

A secure right-of-way is necessary for this project. Acquisitions in fee and permanent or temporary easements may be required. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is responsible for acquiring all needed rights in private or public lands. MassDOT’s policy concerning land acquisitions will be presented in the hearing.

Project inquiries, written statements and other exhibits regarding the proposed undertaking may be submitted to Carrie E. Lavallee, P.E., Chief Engineer, via e-mail to MassDOTProjectManagement@dot.state.ma.us or via US Mail to Suite 7550, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, Attention: Project Management, Project File No. 609434. Statements and exhibits intended for inclusion in the hearing transcript must be emailed or postmarked no later than ten (10) business days (14 calendar days) after the hearing is hosted.

This hearing is accessible to people with disabilities. MassDOT provides reasonable accommodations and/or language assistance free of charge upon request (e.g interpreters in American Sign Language and languages other than English, live captioning, videos, assistive listening devices and alternate material formats), as available.  For accommodation or language assistance, please contact MassDOT’s Chief Diversity and Civil Rights Officer by phone (857-368-8580),  TTD/TTY at (857) 266-0603, fax (857) 368-0602 or by email (MassDOT.CivilRights@dot.state.ma.us).  Requests should be made as soon as possible and prior to the hearing, and for more difficult to arrange services including sign-language, CART or language translation or interpretation, requests should be made at least ten business days before the hearing.

This hearing will be hosted, or a cancellation announcement posted, on this website.