WILLOW CREEK — The Pond Road bridge, a single-lane timber span that carries local traffic over a tributary of the Willow River, will close for repairs starting June 1, the selectmen announced this week.
The closure, expected to last approximately two weeks, will allow the town’s road crew to replace three deteriorating support beams that were flagged during the annual inspection in April. The bridge serves roughly two dozen households on the southern end of Pond Road, as well as providing secondary access to Homan’s Pond.
A gravel detour will be routed via Farr Road and the old logging track that connects to the southern end of Pond Road — a route that Third Selectman Frank Delgado, the board’s infrastructure specialist, described as “serviceable but bumpy.”
“It’s not ideal, but it beats having a bridge fail in the middle of mud season,” Delgado said. “I’ve seen what happens when a timber bridge goes. Nobody wants that.”
Residents with mail delivery on Pond Road are advised to make arrangements with the post office for temporary pickup. Town Clerk Hollis will have the relevant contact information available at the town hall front desk.