Town receives grant for Stowell Road bridge work

A bridge on Stowell Road needs work, and the Town has been awarded a grant.

In 2020, then-Town Manager Guy Scaife informed the Selectboard that "the bridge is in bad condition and needs to be replaced."

In response to a concern raised earlier by [Road Foreman] Dale Lewis regarding the bridge condition, we had [the engineering firm] Stantec visit the site to evaluate its condition...  The net is the bridge is in bad condition and needs to be replaced to include the abutments on each end. It also needs to be widened. I had a conference call with [Stantec's] Rene LaBranche earlier today and confirmed that repairing what is there is not feasible. Rene stated that he did not believe the bridge condition was at a stage that would require the road to be closed, but we should be making every effort to deal with it as soon as possible - this coming year (2021) in my opinion.

The photos show the “waste block” wing wall leaning away from the road. "Definitely an issue," Scaife wrote.

The grant application, submitted to the Vermont Agency of Transporations this spring, outlines the scope of work to be "to assess the structural integrity of the bridge deck, replace and upgrade the wing wall, and add retaining walls on the approach to facilitate the installation of appropriate rail."

The rail likely does not meet safety requirements:

The estimated project cost is $166,170, including a 20% contingency. The grant will cover 90% of project costs, leaving the Town with an up to expense of $16,617. Town Manager Bryan Gazda expects to cover this unbdgeted expense out of the Structures Fund (#310), which will receive a $20,000 contribution in 2021 (page 74 of your 2020 Town Report). The fund was depleted last year for much needed culvert repairs.

Gazda hopes the work will make a nice "end of season" project for a contractor and can be completed in the fall of 2021.