Lakeville to seek $1 million Bridge Street infrastructure grant

LAKEVILLE — The Select Board has decided to apply for a $1 million grant to make improvements at the Bridge Street intersection, near the former Lakeville Hospital site.

During a meeting on Sept. 2, the board discussed how to use the state funds to make the intersection safer through improved traffic flow. Bridge Street and Route 105 meet near the now-abandoned Lakeville Hospital, a former state-operated tuberculosis clinic that closed in 1993.

Board Chair Maureen Candito said there had been state support for infrastructure upgrades around the Lakeville Hospital in the past. Massachusetts originally allocated $2.5 million for upgrades in a 2020 transportation bond bill — a piece of legislature authorizing the state to sell bonds to fund a project — but because funding for the upgrades had not been reauthorized or extended, the funds were no longer available when the board wanted to use them last year.

To secure the new $1 million bond bill, Town Administrator Andrew Sukeforth said the board must first decide on a project to use the money on — a first step they took at the meeting. They must then write a letter of request to the state. If the state approves the request, the funds will be released and available until 2027.

Board Chair Maureen Candito said they had planned to use the previous bond bill to install a light, add a straightaway and widen the right turn lane from Route 105 to Bridge Street. Two studies of the intersection were completed to support this plan. The first was conducted in 2019, but due to Covid pandemic-related delays a second one was needed in 2020.

Sukeforth said in March he discussed improving local sewers with the state funding, but officials in Middleboro did not approve of the idea. Instead, he now believes the board should pursue improvements to the intersection of Bridge Street and Route 105.

“I thought maybe a sewer upgrade in the area might be in the cards, but I didn’t hear favorable news from our neighbors in Middleboro,” Sukeforth said. “I thought, if we need to spend it on something, I’ve heard a lot of feedback on that intersection.”

Costs for construction have risen since the original funds were approved. A 2019 quote put the project at $250,000 but it will now cost BETA, the company responsible for planning and engineering the project, about $600,000.

“That gives us about $400,000 to play with,” Sukeforth said. “It would have to go on the tip, obviously, but if it’s a fully-funded engineering plan I think we have a good chance.”

Sukeforth said part of the reason the cost has risen so much is because Massachusetts has been pushing for roundabouts instead of stoplights. This could increase the back-end cost of the project due to takings of properties around the area, such as the recently closed Walgreens and the Russell and Pica Funeral Home.

Candito said besides the Route 18 and Route 105 intersection, the Bridge Street and Route 105 intersection is the most frequently discussed area regarding safety concerns.

“Whatever a million dollars would cover, it would not cover an inch of the 18/105 [intersection], however, it would cover at least something for Bridge Street,” Candito said.

The board unanimously approved a motion directing Sukeforth to submit a letter to the Executive Office of Administration and Finance to request the new bond bill.