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MVP grant will fund design to replace Hampton’s Main Street Bridge
Summary
State Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) funding will pay for design work for Hampton’s aging Main Street Bridge, officials said; the town cannot cover full construction costs locally and will seek TIP funding once designs are complete.
An agency official leading the MVP planning effort said the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program is funding the design work for Hampton’s Main Street Bridge over the Scantic River, a step officials hope will unlock construction funding through the regional Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
The bridge, built after the 1938 hurricane, has narrow hydraulic capacity and visible beam corrosion, the official said, and is routinely overtopped during large storms. "If this bridge were to wash out, one half of the community would be cut off from the other half," the presenter said, stressing the public-safety and emergency-access implications.
Why it matters: Hampton’s annual operating budget is about $16.5 million, the presenter said, while full bridge replacement can cost in the range of $4 million to $5 million — an amount typically beyond a single-year Chapter 90 allocation. The MVP-funded design work will make the project bid-ready and enable the town to pursue TIP or other construction funding.
Technical approach and standards: The presenter described MassDOT stream-crossing design guidance and said the existing bridge span is roughly 16 feet and hydraulically undersized; the recommended replacement span is about 32 feet (roughly a 20% increase in opening), a change intended to reduce overtopping and allow higher flows and debris to pass under the structure at a lower elevation.
Resilience measures: In addition to a wider span, the MVP planning discussion emphasized looking for complementary, nature-based fixes in the watershed — for example, improving upstream drainage, addressing a visible stormwater outfall to the brook, and creating constructed wetlands to slow, cool and filter runoff before it reaches the stream.
Next steps: The MVP grant covers design and permitting work. Once the town has a final design, officials said they will pursue inclusion on the TIP to compete for construction funds; final construction funding and a timeline were described as "not specified" during the presentation.
Evidence: The presentation included photographs and an on-site review of the Eastbrook/Main Street location and cited prior flood events and a 1950s bridge-rebuild era as background for the town’s current vulnerability assessment.
