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From Mayor Garcia

MassDOT closes Holyoke’s Appleton Street bridge
This afternoon, September 23, the City of Holyoke received notice from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) that it is closing the Appleton Street bridge over the first level canal near Heritage State Park.
According to Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, the notification included the following: “An Inspection Team from MassDOT found a hole that was 20 inches high and 12 inches wide in Girder 3 in the area that the gunite (dry-mix concrete) had fallen off of Girder 3. Due to the widespread deterioration of the girders that is visible and is not encased in gunite, it has been determined that the bridge be closed to all traffic.”
Garcia said the City of Holyoke Mayor’s Office, Engineering Department, Department of Public Works, Police, Fire, Economic Development and Planning, and Cataldo Ambulance have met and all agencies are aware and have made changes in their emergency response routes. The City is working on final detour routes at which time the public will be notified. In the meantime, Garcia asks that drivers follow detour route signage that is already installed.
“On Thursday,” Garcia said, “MassDOT will be inspecting the bridge on Appleton Street over the second level canal at Race Street. We will immediately notify the public of any impacts on roadway access resulting from that inspection.”
“MassDOT lists these bridges for replacement in the State Transportation Improvements Program,” the Mayor said. “The City will be lobbying our legislators and the Commonwealth to accelerate the schedule.”
“We will update the public as we develop a local response and traffic plan to this sudden event.”

UPDATE

MassDOT announces closure of second Appleton Street bridge
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the immediate closure of the bridge carrying Appleton Street (Route 141) over the 2^nd Level Canal in Holyoke. Earlier today, Thursday, during a scheduled bridge inspection, deterioration was discovered requiring the bridge’s closure. The bridge will be closed until further notice.
Currently the project is at 25% design with a total project cost of twenty-seven million dollars.
Traffic will be directed to seek an alternate route. Drivers traveling through the affected areas should expect delays, reduce speed, and use caution.
For more information on traffic conditions, travelers are encouraged to:

• Download the Mass511 mobile app or visit www.mass511.com to view live cameras, travel times, real-time traffic conditions, and project information before setting out on the road. Users can subscribe to receive text and email alerts for traffic conditions.
• Dial 511 and select a route to hear real-time conditions.
• Follow @MassDOT on X, (formerly known as Twitter), to receive regular updates on road and traffic conditions.

From Holyoke Water Works

On September 9, 2025, the Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper declared that the Connecticut River Valley is currently in a Level 2 - Significant Drought as a result of below normal rainfall over the last three months.
See September 9, 2025 Holyoke Drought Status Notification for full notification statement.

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