Engineering study of Goulart Memorial Drive bridge to West Island under way

With no official timeline, Fairhaven officials are considering plans to replace the bridge and stone causeway that serves as the sole access to West Island.

While still in the early stages, Fairhaven has engaged the services of bridge engineers at Tighe & Bond based in Westfield to plan for the short-term or long-term replacement of the Goulart Memorial Drive bridge and causeway.

The bridge spans 27.5-feet over Nasketucket Bay Inlet and consists of prestressed butted voided slabs built in 1970. The original causeway was built in 1920. The causeway, including the bridge, is half a mile long.

A possible 10-foot increase in the height of the bridge in either its current location or at a new location to combat sea level rise may be an option, according to engineers from Tighe & Bond.

What are the plans for the bridge?

Project Manager Eric Ohanian with Tighe & Bond presented the results of a study focusing on the various site constraints, short-term and long-term considerations and various options for improvements to the bridge and causeway to the Fairhaven Select Board at a recent meeting.

He said the longer-term considerations for a causeway at a higher elevation would be a larger footprint and a permitting challenge along with the impact on the marina.

“To build something of that magnitude we would need a temporary bridge to the south,” he said. “The last alternative that we looked at was instead of putting in a temporary bridge to the south, what if we make that a permanent bridge. That could solve various challenges of maintaining traffic during construction.”

He also factors in compliance with climate regulations for resiliency purposes.

“The intensity of these storms is increasing, impacting coastal communities along the East Coast as well as inland communities like Montpelier,” he said, referring to recent flooding conditions in Vermont’s capital. “Resiliency is definitely a consideration.”

Big picture looks at flooding from storms

In the long-term, he said big picture concerns for the future of the bridge and causeway include flooding from storms that are becoming more frequent, including in 2011 during Hurricane Irene and evacuations from West Island from time to time.

Ohanian also addressed some of the site constraints, including the condition of the bridge and causeway, the fact that the bridge and causeway provide sole access to West Island, the location of the marina to the north and overall safety considerations along its length.

What do residents think of the bridge options?

Residents and members of the West Island Improvement Association expressed concerns about the impact on the bridge and the causeway.

West Island resident Virginia Slater said she understands the need for safety, but would like to get a better picture of what the project would look like from different locations, specifically from the resident beach at the bottom of the hill and not just from the marina side.

“What’s this going to look like if you go to the beach, what’s the shade going to be like, what the environmental impact will be, if any,” she said. “Speaking for some of my neighbors who live closer to that off-bridge approach which would put you on the island, what are they going to see from their windows? Are they going to be looking into a roadway?”

Ohanian suggested that different renderings with different vantage points can be drawn to give residents an idea of the elevations and appearance of a replacement bridge and causeway.

Dan Wood, a member of the West Island Improvement Association, said basically what the people of West Island want is a minimum amount of change so that life will continue to be serene and peaceful and they won’t be dealing with a monstrosity.

West Island Improvement Association President Lisa Esten said she appreciates that Tighe & Bond is willing to listen to their concerns about the impact of making the bridge higher would have on the community.

The impact on businesses would be addressed during the design phase.

Why is the state looking at replacing the bridge?

Director of Public Works Vinnie Furtado said the state’s most recent inspection of the causeway determined that it’s structurally sound and not ready to fall apart but its condition does get worse every year.

While not considered to be an urgent need, Furtado said they don’t want to delay planning for the future for too long taking into account the effects of climate change and sea level rise.

Furtado said his original idea was to use state transportation funding awarded to the town each year to fix the bridge deck and contacted bridge engineers Tighe & Bond and learned that state grants and funding would be tied to addressing climate impacts.

Select Board member Robert Espindola asked about the impact of having a temporary bridge in place to maintain traffic and learned that the causeway would also need to be widened to accommodate the bridge.

“It almost sounds like that’s not a realistic middle ground in this instance,” he said. “It sounds almost cost prohibitive and not really practical.”

That’s why they’re looking at longer-term options, Ohanian said.

New abutments for a wider roadway and wider causeway would also be proposed with pedestrian access and walkways to meet the standards for travel lanes as part of a bigger phased approach with possible seawalls and raised roadways.

Ohanian said the challenge would be the need for temporary travel controls, and funding will be key as far as meeting requirements for any available grant programs whether at the same or a different elevation.

He said the longer-term considerations for a causeway at a higher elevation would be a larger footprint and a permitting challenge along with the impact on the marina.

Is the bridge structurally sound?

The old bridge would be taken out of service. Only it’s not in such bad shape right now.

Based on the state Department of Transportation’s ratings system, the bridge is a five on a scale of zero to nine, with zero rated as failed and nine rated as being in excellent condition. He said a rating of three would require the need for serious rehabilitation or replacement of the bridge.

Ohanian said recent repairs to the bridge due to damage caused by a sailboat crashing into it and cracking some beams factored into the rating of five.

He said the bridge design of the 1970s won’t work today, explaining that the existing beams built in 1970 were placed on the original abutments that support the bridge in 1920 and those abutments are 100 years old.

He said the causeway was built around the same time and shows evidence of separation. It also doesn’t have any guardrail, a bike lane or pedestrian access, posing a safety concern. The utilities are also short-term considerations.

To address these concerns, options include the addition of a safety or highway barrier along the causeway and bridge rehabilitation or replacement of the beams on new abutments at the same elevation. The impact on the access roads to the bridge would also be a factor.

Ohanian said the next step will be to look at grant opportunities at both the state and federal level assisted by the planners at Tighe & Bond.

Town Administrator Angie Lopes Ellison said a public announcement about any future focus group discussions about bridge replacement or rehabilitation will be made and the public will have the opportunity to share their concerns and ask questions.

Editor's Note: The location of the bridge was incorrectly reported in the original version of this story. It has been updated with the correct information related to the bridge and causeway on Goulart Memorial Drive in Fairhaven.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. 

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Engineering study of Goulart Memorial Drive bridge under way