State Sen. Paul Mark, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Councilors Peter Marchetti and Karen Kalinowsky joined MassDOT District 1 Highway Director Francisca Heming, neighbors and the bridge crew for the opening of the Holmes Road Bridge.

The construction crew and officials wait for the first vehicle to pass over the completed span.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community members and officials celebrated the opening of the Holmes Road bridge on Friday afternoon as the first cars passed over the finally completed span.

After a more than 60-day shutdown, the structure was finished on schedule and returned to two lanes for the first time in four years.

"I am just very impressed by the crew that was able to do this. They said they were going to do it in 63 days and they did," state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier said. "Even with the weather that we had this summer, they were able to pull it off."

Farley-Bouvier is a resident of the neighborhood and reported that the direct abutters were pleased with Northern Construction Service LLC, which constructed the bridge. Funding for the state Department of Transportation project came from the federal Accelerated Bridge program.

Abutter Marie Gormalley was so impressed with the workers' professionalism and courteousness in minimizing disturbance that she would bring them treats almost every week.  

Before construction, she and other neighbors expressed their concerns at public meetings.

"These guys were so professional," she said. "When they did their work and how they did it, keeping things down, very friendly."

A small informal gathering was held Wednesday on the bridge by neighbors to commemorate its completion.

It had been reduced to one lane since 2019 after being found structurally insufficient and in need of a $3.5 million replacement of the overpass structure. This included a new superstructure over the Housatonic Rail line, a restored sidewalk, improved bicycle access, pavement, and traffic barriers.

Bridge work finally began on June 23 and the span was closed to through traffic this summer.

Traffic traveling southbound on Holmes Road was detoured toward Pomeroy Avenue, Crofut Street, and then to Route 7/20. Traffic traveling northbound was encouraged to utilize Route 7/20.

MassDOT District 1 Highway Director Francisca Heming said MassDOT is very excited for the project to be completed and that it shows the department's commitment to the community.

Highway officials were surprised to see a gathering at the bridge on Friday when they arrived on the scene to open it.

"It feels great," resident engineer Cathy Spaniol said. "It was a lot of hard work in a short amount of time."

State Sen. Paul Mark is also excited to see the bridge open, as it is a connector to South County for himself and many other Berkshire County residents.

"There has been a lot of great work by DOT District One, by our friends in building trades and the labor movement," he said. "And I think they did a really great job moving as quickly as possible."

Among the bridge workers was Zoe Durant, a Pittsfield local who is working as an apprentice for Northern Construction after going to school for the profession.

"I learned a lot," she said. "A lot of my people, my foreman have been more than helpful in helping me learn as I go along on the bridge. It’s a great crew."

Durant did a lot of finishing work on the bridge and hopes to have a full-time job with the company.  

However, Farley-Bouvier pointed out that with the opened bridge comes the problem of speeding on Holmes Road. Not long after it was opened, there was a traffic stop.

"We know the rest of the city is happy and really the county is happy this is open. These neighbors, they're not as happy because they really deal with a lot of traffic that goes too fast," she said.

"And even with the heavy truck ban, there's heavy trucks on this road when there shouldn't be so they are really calling for good enforcement so we're going to join those voices to get good enforcement of that."

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