The Vermont Agency of Transportation has warned the town of Waitsfield that there are serious structural and safety issues with the Meadow Road bridge over the Mad River at the north end of Waitsfield and the select board will post the bridge at 8,000 pounds and grant usage exemptions only for school buses and emergency vehicles.
The select board, at its October 7 meeting, discussed recent communication with VTrans regarding the bridge as well as the town’s time frame for a response. The VTrans report details individual components of the bridge, finding many to be in poor condition, in particular, the floor beams, rails, decking and the superstructure.
Acting town administrator John Abbott told the select board that the town can begin seeking bids for repair/replacement work or buy some time and extend the life of the bridge by posting it.
The estimated cost of the bridge work is $2 million, although the full scope has yet to be designed. There will be some state/federal funding available to offset local costs.
Abbott told the board the cost of repairing versus replacing is what will drive the next steps.
“The easiest thing to do it post the bridge,” he said.
Board chair Christine Parisi said that posting the bridge should be the town’s step, and she also questioned whether people/drivers would respect the signage.
“There should be some kind of enforcement. We have a contract with the sheriff,” board member Fred Messer said.
“The sheriff has to move around while here and there will be exemptions to the weight limit as well,” Parisi responded.
“The more we use it, the shorter its lifespan,” Messer pointed out.
Parisi said that the exemptions that can be granted for posted bridges are granted at the local level and can be granted for up to a year. They can be granted for an entire fleet (as in school buses and emergency), for single use and for as long as a year. Those exemptions are granted at the town office by the town clerk, at the direction of the select board.
In terms of scofflaws who disregard the posted limits, the board will ask the Washington County Sheriff to keep an eye on the bridge.
“I could see asking the sheriff to spend a half hour there every couple of weeks,” board member Brian Shupe said.
Additionally, the board will send a courtesy letter to Warren dairy farmer David DeFreest who runs a lot of farm trucks over Meadow Road bridge although Parisi said she didn’t think that would change that traffic pattern. DeFreest uses that bridge because he can’t get through the Waitsfield covered bridge, board member Chach Curtis noted.
