BLANDFORD – Residents and town officials are seeking to reopen Cobble Mountain Road, formerly a direct connection to Granville village, for emergency management access and recreational use. The road is blocked by gates erected by the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission which owns the Cobble Mountain Dam and Reservoir that provides drinking water to Springfield and surrounding towns. Access to the road and the reservoir was closed “temporarily” in 2002, in response to the terrorist actions of Sept. 11, 2001, and has never reopened.  

Blandford Town Administrator Joshua A. Garcia, who was asked to look into the matter on behalf of residents, said what he has learned in his investigation is that the road is not owned by Springfield Water & Sewer, but by the state Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM). Garcia said it used to be owned by county leadership, and when that dissolved, was transferred to DCAMM.

Garcia said the letter provided by DCAMM to Springfield in 2002 authorized temporary closure to restrict vehicle access.  Twenty years later, Garcia asks, if it’s only vehicular access that is restricted, why are residents that walk on Cobble Mountain Road and other roads gated by Springfield Water & Sewer ticketed by state police hired by them to patrol the roads.

In a recent newsletter to residents, Garcia said after meeting with Springfield Water & Sewer twice, and meeting with the state Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM), “it has been a real eye opener on how far Springfield Water and Sewer is willing to go to protect their interest.”

“We’re not looking for access to the reservoir, but access to the road,” Garcia said, adding, “The only thing I see here is that it’s more convenient for them to restrict anyone from going near the dam, than to deploy resources to provide security.”

Garcia said Springfield Water & Sewer cited one of the reasons to keep the road closed as an “imminent threat” to the 250,000 people it serves. Garcia said if the Quabbin Reservoir, which provides drinking water to Boston and was also temporarily closed after 9/11, can manage access on their property, “It doesn’t make sense. It just adds to our frustration when it comes to our reservoirs.”

Garcia said representatives at Springfield Water & Sewer also say they built the road. “That is not entirely true. The road has always been there. They might have helped to reconstruct the road to better help build the dam,” Garcia said, but it was always a throughway to Granville.  Now residents both ways must take an alternative route on Beech Hill Road, or go through Westfield.  

“There’s not a lot of credibility to their arguments,” Garcia said.

Garcia said Blandford is asking for a good faith effort to look into this.  “Many people were led to believe things that weren’t true. Where does the authority lie, who makes the decision, what is it we can and can’t do. Our interest is to open the road fully. Is it possible, if not, then decisions need to be made.  Townspeople have been getting nowhere to exercise their rights,” Garcia said.

He and Highway Superintendent Rene Senecal Garcia also reviewed Chapter 90 lists, which include Cobble Mountain Road as an accepted road for which Blandford receives state funds.

“Now that we know we don’t own that road, why do we maintain it,” Garcia said.

Garcia said there are other logistical issues the town needs to figure out. “Where we are now, DCAMM has to make a decision,” he said. The town has hired counsel to fully investigate the issue.

Garcia said a lot of residents have been calling and sending emails, all of which he has forwarded to DCAMM.  “This is an issue that has been plaguing the town for two decades,” he said.

Resident Pat Daviau started a petition last fall, signed by 166 residents, to open Cobble Mountain Road.

“It’s ridiculous that they’re keeping those closed from emergency management,” Daviau said, adding that fire trucks are scarce, manned by volunteers, and there are barriers across every access road on Cobble Mountain and steel gates. “It’s challenging for a person to pass through that,” she said.

Daviau said when her family first built up in Blandford, they used to take that road to Granville.  Her kids learned to ride a bike on Cobble Mountain Road. She said a friend of hers got stopped walking on the road, and was told she was lucky she didn’t get a trespassing ticket. “You can’t even walk there. Quabbin is open, and it’s one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S. Why is it you can bike, fish and walk on the Quabbin - and you can even apply for a permit to go through their park at night,” Daviau asked.  

“They don’t own any of the road. They’re blocking our road, our property. It should be open for the people who live in Blandford who are taxpayers and want to go to Granville.  There’s multiple layers of reasons that it should be open. I pay taxes, and I should be able to ride my bike down there and have a picnic in one of the most beautiful places in Blandford,” Daviau said, adding, “What’s more, it is our emergency management road. If there’s a fire in there, God help the people who live near there.”

Springfield Water & Sewer acknowledged a request for comment from Reminder Publishing but did not provide a statement as of press time.