Town of Winchendon Winchendon, MA

North Royalston Road Bridge over Tarbell Brook

BSC designed the full bridge replacement of North Royalston Road over Tarbell Brook in Winchendon, MA. This structure, surrounded by land used for flood storage associated with the nearby Birch Hill Dam, provides a crucial access point and safety route for local residents.

The project incorporated a detailed analysis of various structure types to determine the optimum bridge to be built at the rural, historical and environmentally sensitive site. Based on a hydraulic analysis and the need to meet federal guidelines, the bridge was lengthened from 28 feet to 52 feet and widened from 20 feet to 27’-3”. In order to reduce costs and decrease construction time, the precast concrete Northeast Extreme Tee Beam was used for the bridge superstructure. Steel piles were used to support the abutment, and the bridge deck was cast integrally to eliminate maintenance prone joints.