Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network

Massachusetts Police News, Information and Discussions on MassCops

Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: 09/06/2007
State will close Route 1A bridge for rebuilding

Bryan Eaton/Staff photo - Cars pass over the Route 1A bridge on the Parker River yesterday, but the Massachusetts Highway Department has decided the road will be closed totally while repairs are made.

By Victor Tine
Staff writer



NEWBURY - The Route 1A bridge over the Parker River will be closed to traffic while it is rebuilt, a move that local officials have predicted will create an economic disaster and disrupt everything from ambulance runs to school bus trips to mail delivery.
The Massachusetts Highway Department has decided it is "no longer feasible for traffic to safely use the existing structure during construction, either through a modified staged construction sequence or through the use of a temporary structure placed upon the existing bridge," Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky wrote in a letter to state Sen. Bruce Tarr and state Rep. Harriett Stanley. Stanley said she received the letter Tuesday.
"Instead, we will demolish and reconstruct the bridge in a single phase, and reroute traffic during construction," Paiewonsky wrote.
Paiewonsky's letter did not specify when the bridge will actually close nor did it address the duration of the shutdown. MassHighway spokesman Erik Abell said no date for the closure has been selected.
"We're still working through the details," he said.
Abell said MassHighway estimates the bridge will be closed for about two years.
Stanley said that, coincidentally, she was scheduled to meet with Gov. Deval Patrick and MassHighway officials late yesterday and planned to press for some sort of aid to mitigate the financial damage expected by businesses that will lose customers because of the closure.
"I expect him to commit to help us," she said. Rowley selectmen Chairman David Petersen said there appeared to be little the town could do to reverse the decision. He said his principal concern was for public safety - especially emergency medical transportation - and he had already planned a meeting with the police and fire chiefs and representatives of the town's ambulance service provider, American Medical Response.
Newbury selectmen Chairman Vincent Russo, a vocal proponent of building a temporary bridge, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Closing the bridge entirely has only become a factor in recent months. The original plan for replacing the 77-year-old span called for reconstruction on one side at a time, leaving one lane open for traffic.
Deterioration of the structure accelerated over the winter, however, and by spring the state had closed portions of the roadway. Traffic has been routed into a single lane, regulated by a light, since May 2.

With partial traffic on the existing bridge apparently no longer an option, officials and residents in Newbury suggested that a temporary bridge be extended from the Newbury municipal boat ramp on the north bank of the Parker River to the launching area at Fernald's Marine on the south bank. Both sites are just east of the bridge.
In her letter, Paiewonsky said MassHighway had considered that course of action but had rejected it based on the length of time it would take to design the structure, obtain the necessary permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers and, finally, erect the temporary bridge.
MassHighway is concerned that the bridge might deteriorate to the point of being unsafe while the agency attempted to get the temporary bridge in place, Paiewonsky wrote. "Consequently, there is a distinct possibility that conditions could warrant the sudden and unscheduled closure of the bridge before the temporary bridge (becomes) available."
"Please know that we are aware of the inconveniences that this revised scheme will have on the entire area and only make this decision in the interest of public safety," she wrote.

---

vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
vB Easy Archive Final ©2000 - 2008 - Created by Stefan "Xenon" Kaeser