Paul Benjamin of the Benjamin Co., located at the corner of Route 9 and Bay Road, said he wonders if the construction will ever begin. Dana Rosco of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission said the delays have been frustrating for many involved with the project. I'm not sure why we have a design issue this late in the game. Robin Crosbie, administrative assistant for Hadley, said she has come to equate talking about the Coolidge Bridge with jumping off of it. She said town officials have been kept largely in the dark about the status of the project for the last year.
Plans call for widening the bridge from three to four lanes and adding a cantilevered sidewalk.
The project is expected to take about two years once it gets started. The bridge, which was built about 70 years ago, was designed to handle about 10,000 cars a day. It now handles about four times that much. Used with permission.