Southwick Select Board Authorizes Infrastructure Grants, Assigns Road Projects to Chapter 90 Funds

SOUTHWICK -- March 16, 2026, Southwick Select Board receives failing road data, approves infrastructure grants. The Select Board voted unanimously on three separate infrastructure matters at its March 16 meeting after hearing a pavement management presentation showing the town's 70 miles of accepted paved roads scored an average 71.35 out of 100 and require $930,000 annually just to hold that score, with roughly 30 miles falling below the 50-point threshold requiring major rehabilitation. Consultant Anthony Garrow of Beta Group told the board that Meadow Lane, Derry Lane, Metal Lane, Fernwood, Birchwood, and Pinewood roads all scored in failing or near-failing ranges, drawing a crowd of residents who described streets unrepaved for up to 33 years and said conditions were so bad that driving faster than 12 miles per hour risks vehicle damage. The board voted 3-0 to authorize two One-Stop grant applications for culvert replacements on Johnson Brook, a cold-water fishery in endangered species habitat, at an estimated project cost of $130,000 with a 10 percent town match; approved a separate One-Stop grant for phase two of the zoning bylaw update; and designated fiscal year 2026 crack sealing and Ed Holcomb Road repaving projects as Chapter 90 expenditures. A conservation restriction for the Noblesteed subdivision on Vining Hill Road was continued after a board member raised concerns that the document's permissive "may" language does not guarantee conveyance of open space to the planned homeowners association.