Board hears update on Ferry Street pipe collapse

Board of Public Works · Meeting of October 7, 2026

Easthampton's DPW is racing to fix a collapsed, seven-foot-diameter 1850s pen stock discovered 22 feet beneath Ferry Street. The Board of Public Works, with Chair Thomas Malsbury and member Gilson Hogan both present, heard the department's director describe how a sinkhole that reopened a road closure Thursday night re-emerged the following Monday, leading crews into the basement of a former hydroelectric plant where they found the collapsed, 75-to-100-foot pipe. The department has enlisted an engineering firm referred to in the meeting as Tighe & Bond, a contractor called Gilahar Enterprises, and the state's Office of Dam Safety.

"It's a complex situation that we're dealing with," the director said, estimating the pipe-filling process alone would take about two weeks. The board also voted, 2-0, to approve its September 16 minutes and continued its review of draft water and sewer regulations to a future meeting.

In the full story:

• Public Speak
• Approval of September 16, 2026 Minutes
• Water and Sewer Regulations Update
• Director's Report: Wastewater Plant Aerator Project
• Director's Report: Four Hill Road
• Director's Report: Ferry Street Sinkhole and Collapsed Pen Stock
• Director's Report: Parsons and Everett Sinkhole
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,847 words

Source: the Board of Public Works meeting of October 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.