Brookfield selectmen move to get engineering estimates for failing Nose Mount bridge and nearby culvert

The Brookfield Board of Selectmen met with John Bia of Beta Group to review repair options for the failing Nose Mount bridge and a nearby culvert and to consider whether to commission engineering through to a bid package.

Beta Group engineer John Bia described options ranging from temporary repairs — grout bags, riprap and small wing walls — to a full replacement with a buried box culvert or a new bridge frame. "We are a 170 person company and we are based in Lincoln, Rhode Island. I'm out of the Manchester, New Hampshire office," Bia said, describing his firm's municipal bridge, roadway and stormwater experience.

The discussion centered on trade-offs between lower-cost short-term fixes and longer-term replacements. Bia said a full replacement would likely require a large, buried box culvert or bridge sized to follow stream‑crossing rules; he estimated design and permitting work in the order of $175,000 and warned…