THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION - HIGHWAY DIVISION
NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING
WHERE:
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
Municipal Building
355 East Central Street
Franklin, MA 02038
WHEN:
Monday, April 6th, 2015, at 7:00 PM.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this hearing is to provide the public with the opportunity to become fully acquainted with the proposed Shared Use Bridge over CSX/MBTA Rail Road replacement project. All comments and opinions made at the hearing will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.
PROPOSAL:
The proposed project consists of the replacement of the West Central Street Bridge, which crosses over CSX and MBTA Commuter Rail tracks. Originally constructed in 1922, and rebuilt in 1967, it provided two lanes of traffic with no sidewalks prior to being closed to all traffic in 2008. It is a three (3) span timber structure on stone masonry piers and abutments approximately 58 feet in length.
The new bridge will be a single span, prefabricated truss structure, 78 feet in length with an exposed concrete deck intended to restore pedestrian and non-vehicular travel (shared
use) over the tracks.
The existing timber superstructure and timber piers will be completely removed and the abutments will be demolished to below finished grade. The existing stone masonry walls adjacent to the tracks (which support the timber piers) will be removed to the extent possible so as to not cause significant disruption to rail traffic.
The limits of reconstruction of the travel way approaching the bridge extend from the existing bridge approximately 210 feet to the south and 340 feet to the north. A 12 foot wide paved travel way is proposed with 3 foot wide gravel shoulders and pedestrian and bicycle fencing.
Proposed curb placement, pavement markings and signage will deter vehicular access, however design allowances for periodic emergency and maintenance vehicles (up to AASHTO H10 live loading) will be provided.
Since the existing structure is already closed to traffic, no detours or multiple construction phases are anticipated. The project will commence with the erection of temporary utility supports and the relocation of active utilities currently supported on the existing structure followed by the complete removal of the existing bridge.
The new substructure elements will be constructed and the new prefabricated trusses will be delivered and moved into position. Finally, all active utilities will be relocated and supported by the new structure and the remaining existing and temporary utility supports will be removed.
The new structure will provide greater vertical clearance over the existing tracks, increasing from approximately 17’-0” to 18’-3”.
No property takings or temporary easements are anticipated in the present design.
Written views received by MassDOT subsequent to the date of this notice and up to five (5) days prior to the date of the hearing shall be displayed for public inspection and copying at the time and date listed above. Plans will be on display one-half hour before the hearing begins, with an engineer will be in attendance to answer questions regarding this project.
A project handout is available on the MassDOT website listed below. Written statements and other exhibits in place of, or in addition to, oral statements made at the Public Hearing regarding the proposed undertaking are to be submitted to Patricia A. Leavenworth, P.E., Chief Engineer, Massachusetts Department of Transportation – Highway Division, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116.
Such submissions will also be accepted at the hearing. The final date of receipt of these
statements and exhibits for inclusion in the public hearing transcript will be ten (10) days after this Public Hearing. Project inquiries may be emailed to dot.feedback.highway@state.ma.us
This location is accessible to people with disabilities. MassDOT provides reasonable accommodations and/or language assistance free of charge upon request (including but not limited to interpreters in American Sign Language and languages other than English, open or closed captioning for videos, assistive listening devices and alternate material formats, such as audio tapes, Braille and large print), as available.
For accommodation or language assistance, please contact MassDOT’s Chief Diversity and Civil Rights Officer by phone (857-368-8580), fax (857-368-0602), TTD/TTY (857-368-0603) or by email (MassDOT.CivilRights@dot.state.ma.us).
Requests should be made as soon as possible 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 (10) business days before the meeting.
In case of inclement weather, hearing cancellation announcements will be posted on the internet at: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Highway/
THOMAS J. TINLIN, P.E. .
ACTING HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATOR
PATRICIA A. LEAVENWORTH, P.E
CHIEF ENGINEER
This public hearing notice was share from the Town of Franklin webpage
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_News/020289A8-000F8513
