Curtisville Bridge

by Michael Canales

When I first arrived in Stockbridge one of the main concerns was the condition of bridges in Town. Engineering had been done on some bridges, one was under construction and a few had concerns identified during their bridge inspections. Working with department heads, the select board and various committees we develop plans and funding to proceed on all but one.

That one outlier was the Curtisville Bridge, a bridge constructed in 1842 near one of the first wood-based newsprint paper mill in the U.S and among the oldest stone-arch bridges in the state.

A letter from MassDOT Chief Engineer Thomas F. Broderick required the town to close the bridge in 2012. The determination to close the bridge was based on a loss of mortar and cracks forming in the arch, arch wing, and foundation stones. The bridge was in poor condition and prior to its closing, the Town had reduced the weight limit on it to three tons. Prior to these concerns the Society for Industrial Archeology (New England Chapters – 1997) identified that drainage from the road above is causing fill behind the wall to wash away, and the iron railing is also in need of repair.

In 2015 the Town undertook a study to make the necessary repairs with a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which gives them final approval for ten years on any proposed work. The study was completed by Foresight Land Services, Inc. and JDB Consulting Engineers but the work identified was never done.

During site visits in April and May, 2020 by Foresight Land Services, Inc. and JDB Consulting Engineers, respectively, the existing bridge structure was observed to have deteriorated significantly. Specifically, they observed that the abutments are being undermined by erosion, the stones are continuing to separate within the arch and upstream walls have continued to fail. Therefore, the decision was made to move the utilities off the bridge structure.

In the end, this stone masonry arch bridge has served the community, however, it has now exceeded its intended service life and has many issues which have not been addressed. Do we remove the bridge and rebuild the walls, build a new vehicle bridge, or build a stone arch pedestrian bridge? We will be discussing and determining a course of action over the next few months in preparation for this year’s town meeting.

Photo: Lionel Delevingne