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MANSFIELD - Town officials and the state transportation department are at odds over how to deal with the partial closure of Route 106 during next summer's Chauncy Street railroad bridge repair project.

Crews will be repairing the bridge's underpass and fixing its storm water drainage system. Water has been leaking onto the road underneath, creating dangerous, icy driving conditions in the winter.

The project's design received final approval in January, and next week MassHighway is scheduled to request bids from construction firms to complete the $5.9 million job, much of which is being funded by the federal government.

However, officials in Mansfield are concerned about the impact the project will have on traffic in the busy area around the railroad bridge, which each day is mobbed with cars trying to exit the train station parking lots. Two of Route 106's four lanes will be closed next summer when the project is in progress.

"It's a very bad intersection to start with," said Town Engineer John Sullivan. Police Chief Arthur O'Neill is also concerned for the safety of his police officers, who direct traffic there during rush hour.

To deal with the expected delays and the safety concerns, the board of selectmen asked MassHighway to install temporary traffic signals at the intersection of Route 106 and Winthrop Avenue, where commuters exit a private train station parking lot.

"We - both myself and the chief of police - feel a (traffic) light should be provided during construction of this intersection," Sullivan said. "We feel that's going to be needed in order to get anybody out of the train station."

But MassHighway contends that traffic signals are not necessary at the intersection, and turned down Mansfield's request for signals. State officials further warned that the request could delay the project and jeopardize its funding.

Their led Selectmen Chairman Louis Amoruso to say it seemed as though MassHighway was trying "to punish us."

In response, the police chief sent MassHighway his own letter, stressing his concerns about public safety and asking the state to reconsider.

Additionally, the board of selectmen sent a second letter to the highway department's project management director, Marie Rose, also asking her to reconsider.

Despite the misgivings in Mansfield, Sullivan said the project could go forward even without the signals. "It could be done," he said. "But the police chief has concerns about the officers out there."

Regardless, Sullivan thinks the bridge repair project will happen next summer. "We're still optimistic that, if MassHighway cooperates, this work could start this year," he said.

TED NESI covers Mansfield for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com or 508-236-0434.