State To Conduct Onsite Of Azalea Drive Bridge

 HARWICH – Massachusetts Department of Transportation staff will meet with town officials on Wednesday, Aug. 13 to discuss design improvements for the Azalea Drive Bridge. Erosion problems at the newly-constructed bridge has been flushing sediment into the Herring River.

 MassDOT officials conducted a virtual meeting with town staff and Brad Chase,  diadromous fish project leader with the state Division of Marine Fisheries, on Tuesday, July 22.

Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper said officials discussed a two-phased approach to addressing the conditions. Phase one would address the sediment issue in the river caused by the erosion, and the second phase would be to provide a permanent fix to flooding caused by heavy rain. Hooper said he recommended design changes to contain rainwater.

MassDOT officials, including representatives from the environmental and drainage divisions, will visit the bridge, located in the Headwaters section of town, next Wednesday to assess the problems, according to Hooper. 

Heavy rains on July 8 overwhelmed the new bridge’s capacity to contain runoff. The water overflowed the curbs and washed sections of the banks into the river below. One residential driveway was also eroded. Hooper said earlier this spring there was another overwash caused by heavy rains.

“They need a little more leaching capacity,” he said. “It looks a little short. I don’t know how it got approved by anybody.”    

Hooper said he is focused on getting the water retained on the road in catch basins and leaching systems. Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski is focusing on the environmental issues, including the sediment that has entered the Herring River, he added. 

“The steep bank slope and reliance on mulch are poor design features that should be corrected,” Chase wrote in an email.

Poor drainage was one of the deficiencies of the bridge that was replaced. The new bridge, a $4 million project, was constructed over the past couple of years. MassDOT presently has jurisdiction over the structure, but once outstanding issues are resolved, the town will take ownership as it is located on the town right-of-way.