Public Meeting Notice  Pittsfield - Bridge Replacement, Pontoosuc Ave Over West Branch Housatonic River Reservoir

A Virtual Public Informational Meeting will be hosted on the MassDOT website below to present the design for the proposed Bridge Replacement, Pontoosuc Ave Over West Branch Housatonic River Reservoir project in Pittsfield, MA.

Purpose:

The purpose of this meeting is to provide the public with the opportunity to become fully acquainted with the proposed Bridge Replacement, Pontoosuc Ave Over West Branch Housatonic River Reservoir project. All views and comments submitted in response to the meeting will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.

Proposal:

The proposed project consists of replacing the existing bridge to ensure both the safety of the traveling public and access to businesses and residential homes in the vicinity of the project location. The recommended alternative is a full replacement founded on deep foundations with the existing substructure removed in its entirety. A minimum of 5-foot sidewalks will be provided by the proposed bridge and approach roadways.

The bridge will be closed to all modes of transportation during construction. There is no potential for a temporary vehicular or pedestrian bridge given the site characteristics and adjacent properties. Vehicle and pedestrian detours are required to provide adequate accessibility accommodation.

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

This meeting 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 meeting, 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 meeting.

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