NEW SHARON – People have a chance Thursday to tell state Department of Transportation officials what they think about closing Muddy Brook Bridge.

A public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Cape Cod Hill School when Dale Doughty and Ben Foster from MDOT will explain why the department does not have plans to replace the bridge, said John Buxton from that department on Monday.

Selectmen issued the invitation to MDOT after Jack Sawyer expressed concerns about the 145-foot-long bridge that was closed to traffic in March, said board Chairman James Smith. Sawyer indicated that the board had not done enough regarding the bridge, Smith said, so the board chose to hold a public meeting and let people hear what MDOT has to say as well as voice their opinions. No one other than Sawyer, even those living on Main Street, has come to the board to talk about the bridge, Smith said.

Sawyer surveyed townspeople after the board told him no one wanted the bridge, Sawyer said. Within two or three days, he had accumulated 400 signatures of people who did want it open, he said. For safety reasons, it makes sense to keep it open, he added.

The Main Street bridge built in 1929 on what was formerly Route 2 was closed because it is not safe, Buxton said. MDOT engineers made the decision to close it after a March inspection revealed that one of the bridge piers had rotated.

The pier supports the bridge and in turn is supported by wood pilings driven into the ground that have deteriorated, a MDOT representative said earlier this year. The bridge is one of 288 identified by MDOT as at risk for closure unless they were repaired or replaced.

“It’s not cost effective to replace the bridge,” Buxton said, adding that it’s a short detour and the bridge has a low traffic count, less than 100 cars a day. Buxton estimated the cost to replace the bridge would be $2 million or more.

But, a safety issue concerns many people, said Rose Mary Eller, town clerk. The fire station is located on Main Street and if there was a bad accident at the Route 2 intersection and traffic was blocked, fire trucks would have difficulty responding with Main Street now a dead-end after the closing of Muddy Brook Bridge.

Customers at Sandy River Farm Supply, located at the intersection, mostly seem to want the bridge back, said clerk Phyllis Mason of Industry. The safety issue for the fire department as well as the loss of two bridges in the town used by snowmobilers raised concern. An old iron bridge stretching across Sandy River was closed last year.

As for the town taking over the bridge, Smith doubts that will happen. The board made inquiries to a company that makes a pre-fabricated bridge but the estimated $500,000 cost wouldn’t include new abutments and labor. Money spent on the bridge would take away from other road maintenance projects for the town, he said.