Capital Planning Committee Votes $220,000 for Church Street Bridge Engineering

ERVING — February 17, 2021 — Erving's Capital Planning Committee unanimously approved a $220,000 recommendation to fund full engineering on the deteriorating Church Street bridge and purchase a solar-powered traffic message sign. The vote, taken at the February 17 committee meeting, was spurred by a MassDOT courtesy warning that the town must restrict traffic on the bridge within two to three weeks of receiving a formal written order. Committee Chair Benjamin Fellows and the town administrator presented a proposal from engineering firm Weston and Sampson covering design through construction administration at $200,000, with a solar sign adding roughly $20,000. The administrator said $500,000 in certified free cash sits unallocated and is the recommended funding source, though he cautioned any commitment reduces reserves available to balance the fiscal year 2022 budget. The Finance Committee and Select Board were set to weigh in at a joint meeting February 22, with a late-March special town meeting as the target vehicle for the article. The bridge has been discussed for more than a decade; MassDOT's imminent order ended any option to wait for the originally planned fiscal year 2023 engineering timeline.