Bridges in line for rehab
Four projects top state's list
Lawrence, Lowell, and Medford are among the communities in this area that stand to reap the benefits of legislation filed by Governor Deval L. Patrick to finance and accelerate repairs to some of the hundreds of the state's most neglected bridges.
The three cities have four bridge projects the state Executive Office of Transportation intends to put on the fast track, provided the governor's $3 billion financing plan unveiled last week is approved by the Legislature.
The state Highway Department, or MassHighway, will do a $7.1 million upgrade in Lawrence to the Route 28 bridge over the Merrimack River. The project will include reconstructing the road on and approaching the bridge, replacing concrete deck slabs, improving bridge and road guardrails, and replacing sidewalk supports as needed. The steel bridge would also be cleaned and repainted, and lighting would be replaced.
In Lowell, the state plans to reconstruct a north and southbound stretch of Interstate 495 that includes repairs to six bridges - two over the MBTA and Boston & Maine railroad tracks, two over Woburn Street, and two over the Concord River - at a cost of $18.1 million.
In Medford, the Woods Memorial Draw Bridge, which connects the Wellington Circle area and Everett along Route 16 and crosses the Malden River, will be replaced for an estimated $30.7 million by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Also in Medford, the Cradock Bridge, which spans the Mystic River and includes some historic stone arches dating to 1637, is in line for $8.4 million in upgrades.
Work on a number of the fast-tracked bridge projects will begin within 90 days of the funds becoming available, said Adam Hurtubise, a spokesman for MassHighway, though he did not know whether those in Lawrence, Lowell, and Medford would be stepped up to that extent.
Lawrence Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said he is pleased the state has made repairing the Route 28 bridge a priority because it is the primary bridge of three that connect the city from north to south. It is also heavily used by school buses heading to three nearby elementary schools, he said.
"It's really an eyesore," said Sullivan, adding the bridge has "been in terrible condition for years and years."
In the last four years, approximately $5 million in city and state funds have been spent to revamp a long stretch of Route 28 on both sides of the bridge, Sullivan said. But work to the bridge itself, either to repair potholes or to address more serious structural problems, has been almost nonexistent, he said.
Sullivan, who has been mayor for seven years and a city resident for 35 years, estimates it has been 20 to 30 years since work was last done on the bridge. "Lawrence is rebuilding itself," so the repairs "really will complement and complete our renovation of Route 28," he said.
Brian W. Kerins, Medford's deputy commissioner of public works, said both the Woods Memorial Draw Bridge and the Cradock Bridge are "tired" and could use the improvements because they serve as vital arterial routes for area drivers. "Both of them are very heavily traveled bridges 24/7," Kerins said.
Though "very grateful" to hear news that MassHighway will include six Lowell bridges as part of its I-495 overpass replacement project, the city has many other bridges still in need of significant repairs, said T.J. McCarthy, assistant city manager for public works.
Lowell has as many as 114 bridges controlled by a "hodgepodge" of entities including the city, the state, and even private owners, he said.
"We've got our hands full here. Obviously, we're going to need more help to get things done," McCarthy said.
Among the worst bridges are two that span the Pawtucket Canal owned by Enel Energy. They are in such bad shape, McCarthy said, that weight restrictions have been imposed, limits that now prevent city firetrucks from going over them.
One of the city's most pressing needs is the planned replacement of the University Avenue Bridge, which crosses the Merrimack River by the University of Massachusetts at Lowell campus, he said. The state recently moved the project start date from 2018 to 2012, a move McCarthy said the city was happy to learn of.
"Just having one less bridge impacts not just the city of Lowell but regionally," said McCarthy, who said that when the bridge closed in 2003 for several months of work, it created traffic snarls that snaked well into Southern New Hampshire.
Christina Pazzanese can be reached at pazzanese@gmail.com.
