Traffic continues to snarl between Springfield and Ludlow as West Street Bridge waits for MassDOT inspection
SPRINGFIELD — Those who live and work near the West Street Bridge that connects Springfield and Ludlow speak of the heavy traffic that came with the closure of the bridge in August.
Drivers will have to wait until Massachusetts Department of Transportation completes a detailed inspection before they get answers as to how — and when — the bridge will be fixed.
Ludlow Police closed the bridge on Sunday, Aug. 17, because a bump caused by expansion formed in the middle of the bridge, scraping and damaging vehicle undercarriages. The bridge, which carried about 13,750 cars a day in 2019, crosses the Chicopee River to connect Ludlow with the Indian Orchard neighborhood of Springfield.
Christopher Cignoli, Department of Public Works director for the city of Springfield, said MassDOT will conduct an inspection in a couple weeks when the equipment to perform it becomes available.
The West Street Bridge over the Chicopee River has been closed for repair since August after Mass DOT received multiple reports of cars suffering damage to their undercarriages after going over a bump in the center of the bridge. However, it now seems there are other safety issues with the structure. October. 9, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
"In the next month or two, we, city of Springfield, town of Ludlow and MassDOT, we're gonna be doing a lot of analysis and making a determination what's gonna be the long-term fate of this structure," Cignoli said.
A range of options face Ludlow and Springfield, who are jointly responsible for the structure. Does that mean closing the bridge forever? Does it mean a rebuild costing in the ballpark of $10 million to $12 million?
Whatever the next move, it won't be a quick fix, Cignoli said.
"What we've kind of figured out is that Band-Aid, bailing wire and duct tape are not going to fix this," he said.
The 86-year-old truss bridge closed two years ago to repair two sections of its steel deck at either end to address pooling water. The fix cost about $380,000 and Cignoli said it was thought to address the bridge's biggest problem.
After the bump formed, Springfield ordered its own inspection of the bridge. The report, which sat on Cignoli's desk Thursday afternoon, uncovered more issues. In parts of the bridge, the steel decking lifted up from its supports as weld joints failed primarily due to age. Photos of the breaks show they had rusted over time.
The inspection also showed steel beams that crossed underneath the bridge in a series of Xs are not in great shape, Cignoli said.
The West Street Bridge, Cignoli said, is like a used car. "It's like, 'hey, we fixed the transmission, but now the breaks don't work."
At the same time, a slew of other bridge and construction projects are underway across the region, Cignoli said, some of them funded through the same infrastructure bill.
For instance, nearby Putts Bridge has a weight restriction on it, and work planned for this fall aims to alleviate that restriction. But there is also a long-term plan to completely replace that bridge, Cignoli said.
"One of the things that we always have to look at on these is timing of construction and detour," Cignoli said.
A spokesperson for MassDOT referred questions about the status of the bridge to Springfield and Ludlow. They did not immediately provide information about the status of the state's planned inspection.
At the bridge
The scene was quiet at West Street Bridge Thursday afternoon. The trees along the Chicopee River were beginning to turn yellow and red and a squirrel ambled across West Street, past a sign notifying motorists coming from Ludlow that the bridge was closed.
Up the road in Springfield, construction workers who were operating a backhoe in the nearby electrical substation parked along West Street, past the orange traffic cones and plastic barriers closing the road to the bridge.
Giovanni Delvalle works as a lot attendant at the Indian Orchard transport company, Youth on the Move. He has been at the business for 2 months and said the benefits are great. October. 9, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Up the road further still, drivers in fluorescent jackets moved to and from the vans operated by Youth On The Move, a shuttle service that works with a variety of groups such as schools and state agencies, transporting people to dialysis, methadone clinics and work, and more.
Janice Brown, owner of Youth On The Move, said her location on Front Street was the perfect location to use the West Street Bridge to jump on the highway and quickly get to all points in the region. Her drivers would fill their gas tanks at a station across the river in Ludlow.
While the bump on the bridge was so bad that vehicles undercarriages would scrape even when going 2 mph, "for the small business that I am, I really could use that bridge," Brown said.
Traffic begins to pick up around 2 p.m., she said.
With the bridge out, Brown's drivers are adding 20 minutes to each route to get around the traffic, and sometime that's not enough. If the delay that day was 30 or 40 minutes, then her drivers incur a fine for showing up late to a school or day care, she said.
It's a problem she expects will get worse as warehouse club BJ's is slated to open at the Springfield Crossing development later this year, attracting more motorists to the area.
"Warner School is on the corner," Brown said. "Now think about 2:30-3 o'clock when parents are going to get their kids. BJ's just opened up. Oh my God, it's going to be a nightmare."
Owner of an Indian Orchard transport company, Youth on the Move, Janice Brown said that the West Street Bridge closure has affected her business that regularly used the crossing. Oct. 9, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
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