ROYALSTON – Representatives of the North Quabbin Trails Association met with Royalston’s Selectboard Tuesday night and enthusiastically pitched options for rehabilitating the King Street Bridge.

The bridge, built in 1937, sits just off Blossom Street and has been closed to vehicular traffic for decades due to safety concerns. It also lies at the trailhead of a footpath that runs for just over three miles along the north bank of the Millers River before veering south into Athol’s Bearsden Conservation Area.

A map erected in the parking area at the southern end of the bridge instructs hikers to cross over the river in order to access the trail. The problem is that as of last October, pedestrians are also prohibited from the bridge, thus limiting access to the adjacent trail.

NQTA President Bobby Curley went before the board to ask what can be done, and suggested reaching out to U.S. Rep Jim McGovern to see about an engineering study.

“Can we reach out and find out what we can do to solve the problems and make it a footpath-worthy bridge?” asked Curley.

The NQTA President suggested a Vermont truss bridge be built next to the King Street Bridge. He added that if the older bridge could be reused in some way, it would help to invigorate Royalston’s economy and increase property values.

“Tell us what direction you want to partner up with,” said Curley. “I will work with Jack Dunphy on the structural part, the engineering part of it. I’ll contact McGovern. All I ask is that you let us know what to do.”

Dunphy operates a real estate office at the Orange Innovation Center.

Board member Rick Martin, while describing himself and board Chair Deb D’Amico as enthusiastic supporters of trail development and outdoor recreation, said that there may be significant issues. Martin recently spoke with the chief bridge engineer with the Department of Transportation and was told that the plans would need to be approved by the state, and designs would need to meet MassDOT requirements.

Martin cautioned that the engineer reiterated a number of times that that bridge is in very bad shape. He added that, even if someone could be found to do an independent assessment of the structure, there would be a cost involved. The Selectboard member said he had applied for a grant to undertake a feasibility study on reuse of the bridge, but the application was turned down.

“The last thing about the bridge, is that it was built in ‘37,” Martin said. “A lot of ships were built around that time for the war. What were they painted with? They were painted with lead paint. That bridge has an immense amount of lead paint on it – underneath it, on top of it, whatever. So anybody who wants to fix the bridge has to mitigate it and make sure no lead falls in the river.

Despite the difficulties that appear to lie ahead, the board expressed support for exploring potential strategies for solving the problem of the King Street Bridge. It was determined that the board, NQTA, the Royalston South Village Revitalization Committee, and other involved individuals should coordinate their efforts, including contacting state and federal officials, as well as structural engineers who may be willing to take a look at the span and point the way forward.

“We do understand how important this access across the water is to all of the trails (in the area) and to the Town of Royalston,” said D’Amico. “We’ve got to figure out how to make that bridge accessible to pedestrians. We don’t care about vehicles. It’s the pedestrians who want to go over that. I feel like there’s a solution here somewhere.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

]]>