Stockbridge — The Select Board deliberated over four choices presented for the ailing Curtisville Bridge following a June 6 presentation by Town Manager Michael Canales, opting to wait for a second opinion before moving forward. Those options varied from a vehicular bridge to a pedestrian bridge or trail bridge, with the need for local mobility considered, along with the historical nature of the site that dates to the mid-1800s. For John McCarthy, whose family lives adjacent to the bridge and whose home shares its foundation, the bridge’s status is “very top of mind.
” He told the Select Board he assembled a letter from neighbors in that area, “folks who care deeply about the old, historic spirit of Curtisville.“ “It is a beautiful, amazing example of an old industrial village,” McCarthy said. “It’s got a really powerful, amazing charm to it.
” Advocating the structure be used as a pedestrian bridge, McCarthy cited a benefit of the bridge that initially closed to vehicles but allowed pedestrian traffic: “That village started to feel a lot more as we imagined it might have back in the earlier days, a lot more peaceful, a lot more connected.” He added, “With that being reopened for vehicular traffic, it would probably ruin a lot of the benefits that we’ve started to enjoy.” The Curtisville Bridge, one of the Commonwealth’s oldest stone-arch bridges, was closed in 2012 following an engineering review from the Massachusetts Department of Transporta.
