NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has selected a Boston firm to lead the $750,000 feasibility study of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

 

Stoss Landscape Urbanism and its partners are charged with providing North Adams options for addressing the failing overpass to create a more connected and thriving downtown.

 

"The city of North Adams is thrilled to be working with Stoss and their partners to make sure that we make inform decisions about our future and that we explore every  opportunity to remedy disconnected traffic patterns downtown caused, in large part, by the Route 2 Overpass. It is imperative that, unlike the Urban Renewal programs of the past, we do so in an inclusive, collaborative way." said Mayor Jennifer Macksey in a statement announcing the selection. "We are excited by the possibility that this collaboration among the city, Stoss, Mass MoCA and NBCC will result in a truly transformative project that will benefit of the people of North Adams, surrounding communities and visitors to the city."

 

The city partnered with Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to apply for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. The program is providing a $1 billion over the next five years for planning, construction and technical grants for communities affected by past infrastructure projects. 

 

Connecting the city's massive museum and its struggling downtown has been a challenge for 25 years. A major impediment, all agree, is the decades old Central Artery project that sent a four-lane highway through the heart of the city. 

 

The 171-foot span is in dire need of repair and deemed "structurally deficient" after the most recent inspection by the state Department of Transportation. A set of jersey barriers narrows the four-lane highway to two lanes at the midpoint. The last time it was overhauled was in 1992 with the federal government and state picking up the $2.1 million tab.

 

The museum and city are seeking options that include its possible removal and a reconfiguration of that busy traffic area.