- City:
- Montague, MA
- Site Type:
- Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1935
Description
The Sawmill River is located in northern Massachusetts, and passes near and under many streets in the town of Montague: “The river closely parallels North Leverett Road and Main Street, and passes under North Leverett Road, Route 63, South Street, Center Street, Main Street, Meadow Road and South Ferry Road on its way to the Connecticut …”
A short bridge carries Center Street across the Sawmill River. It was improved with the aid of federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. A plaque credits WPA improvement work between 1935 and 1936; imprints on the sides of the cement side structures along the bridge state 1937.
Source notes
https://www.montague.net/pages/MontagueMA_Planning/Section%204_FINAL_REVISED_1-26-2011.pdf Plaque on bridgeSite originally submitted by Evan Kalish on August 23, 2016.
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In February 2018, following a Mass DOT inspection revealing declining structure under the bridge, the town reduced the Center Street Sawmill River Bridge to one lane with concrete barriers. https://www.recorder.com/Center-Street-Bridge-inspection-15859117
In May 2022, following another Mass DOT inspection revealing failure of multiple support beams, the town permanently closed the Center Street Sawmill River Bridge to vehicular traffic with concrete barriers. Bicycles and pedestrians can still cross the bridge. https://www.recorder.com/Montague-s-Center-Street-Bridge-closes-amid-structural-concerns-46630389
It may be at least a decade in this state, as the town already has many other bridges scheduled for repairs with state funding in the 2020s including the parallel South Street Sawmill River Bridge (reduced to a single lane in May 2018, scheduled for repair in Summer 2024) and the North Leverett Road Sawmill River Bridge (similarly reduced recently, scheduled for repair in Spring 2025). So far as I can tell, neither the South St nor North Leverett Rd bridges are WPA; they are less impressive and have no plaques.