NORTH ADAMS — “Have you ever seen me so excited?” Mayor Jennifer Macksey said, jumping into her white SUV to become the first person to drive over the Brown Street Bridge in more than two years. “I’m like a little kid.”

On Monday morning, the Brown Street Bridge officially reopened, much to the delight of motorists like Macksey.

The state closed the heavily used bridge in March 2023 after determining it wasn’t safe for travel. All traffic that typically would cut over on the bridge was detoured around it, creating two years of congested traffic around River, Main Street and Route 2.

"It's very exciting," said Macksey at the reopening, where she thanked J.H. Maxymillian construction, Rep. John Barrett III and MassDOT for their roles in getting the project off the ground and completed.

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, engineers from MassDOT, city councilors, and other public officials celebrated the reopening of Brown Street Bridge on Monday after two years of closure. MassDOT closed the heavily used bridge in 2023 and the city began needed repairs earlier this year.

In July 2025, the city sent out a request for proposal for contractors to make the estimated $350,000 repair to the bridge. It was expected to take 90 days.

The footings of the beams were corroded, according to Commissioner of Public Services Timothy Lescarbeau, and so the beams were starting to move. The project continued to stall after engineering delays and waiting for parts. MassDOT and J.H. Maxymillian, Inc. promised Macksey the finished repair would be the city's early Christmas present.

"The [state department of transportation], you have to give them some credit," added Barrett. "They got this moving."

Chapter 90 funds covered $75,000 of the repair and the balance was paid for by remaining flood funds from the state because the work was done around the flood control chute.

"It's a very important cutover, especially for public safety," said Lescarbeau. "It means a lot to have it opened back up."

Besides the constant traffic headaches for residents, the Northern Berkshire EMS sits right next to the bridge off River Street and the bridge closure added an extra two minutes to ambulance and emergency services trying to get to the other end of the city, Macksey said.

"Two minutes can be a lot when you are having a cardiac event," she said.