Hampden advances Main Street bridge design under MVP grant; easement and permitting work ongoing

Town of Hampden officials and project consultants on Tuesday described progress on a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant-funded design to replace the Main Street bridge over East Brook and added preliminary plans for nearby green infrastructure.

The project team said the existing structure is undersized and in decline, and that the MVP grant paid for final design work that will let the town seek construction funding through the regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Steven Tyler, project manager for the Town of Hampden MVP project, said the existing bridge opening is about 16 feet and the proposed span needs to be roughly 32 feet to meet stream-crossing hydraulic standards and reduce flood risk. "We determined that the proposed span for this bridge needed to be around 32 feet," Tyler said.

The project, Tyler added, has completed several regulatory steps: the conservation commission issued and recorded an Order of Conditions last fall; the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program provided comments that were addressed through the conservation process; the Massachusetts Historical Commission reviewed and approved the project notification form; and a pre-construction notification was sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Tyler said the Chapter 85 final design submission to MassDOT was planned for the end of the month and that the team would respond to any remaining review comments even if they extend beyond the MVP grant period.

Consultants emphasized the broader resilience approach required by the MVP process. The team described complementary nature-based designs to reduce pollutants and treat runoff upstream of East Brook, including a small infiltration basin near Laughing Brook that is sized to be maintainable by town highway staff. "All the catch basins are just on the other side of this berm on Main Street…we can be treated here through plant species along with retention," one presenter said while explaining the green infrastructure concept.

Project staff said they prepared preliminary right-of-way and easement plans and drafted an easement agreement that is under review between town officials and Mass Audubon; they expected to finalize language and have documents ready for execution once the town has appropriate vote or authorization. The presenters advised the board to engage the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the District Bridge Engineer to prioritize the bridge for TIP programming and MassDOT bridge funding.

Select Board members asked about timing and prioritization for MassDOT and the MPO, noting the bridge’s effect on emergency response if Main Street were to be closed during a flood. Consultants said programming decisions vary but that emphasizing the bridge’s emergency-service impacts and vulnerability rationale strengthens the case.

Perry Hallinan, the project filmmaker, previewed outreach videos documenting Hampden’s MVP work and said the films are hosted on the Hamden (sic) project website along with reports and maps produced during the grant. Hallinan said the films are intended as an educational resource for the community and other towns.

What happens next: the team will submit the final design to MassDOT per Chapter 85, finalize easement language with Mass Audubon, and pursue TIP programming with the MPO and district bridge engineer. No formal vote was required at Tuesday’s meeting; staff described the work as advance design and permitting tied to future construction funding processes.

Ending: Consultants said replacement of the Main Street bridge is a lengthy, multi-agency process but that having completed final-design documents will allow the town to pursue construction funding. They encouraged direct outreach to the district bridge engineer and to emphasize the bridge’s condition and emergency-service consequences when seeking prioritization for state bridge programs.