Hub, Quincy at odds over bridge

Walsh begins rebuilding process over neighbor’s protests

Mayor Martin J. Walsh is starting the process of rebuilding the Long Island bridge — expected to cost more than $90 million — over the objections of Quincy officials who are vowing to fight the project from day one.

Walsh is officially filing plans with the city’s Conservation Commission today to rebuild the bridge, which was taken down for safety reasons in 2014, displacing hundreds of homeless people and drug addicts who had been receiving services on the island. City officials said the permitting process would take a year, with construction on the bridge expected to start next year and finish in 2021.

But the bridge connects to Quincy and their officials — who have repeatedly criticized Walsh’s plans — have to weigh in on conservation and building permits as well. Chris Walker, spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch, said the mayor will continue to push back on the bridge.

“We are ready as a city to do what we need to do to stop this ill-conceived project,” Walker said, adding officials are concerned about a rebuilt bridge affecting traffic and harbor concerns in the Squantum area. “We will be making our case every step of the way that this bridge will have a serious detrimental impact to public safety and potentially the environment.”

The Quincy City Council is considering a law that would prevent construction vehicles from driving on the road that leads to the bridge, but under Walsh’s plan the bridge spans would be built offsite and shipped by barge to the bay, where they will be loaded onto the old bridge’s original piers. Boston Chief of Streets Chris Cook said the piers are still safe to use and that city officials would have “discussions” with their Quincy counterparts.

“We are comfortable with the approach we are taking, which is focused on minimizing environmental disruption and minimizing traffic on the streets of Quincy,” Cook said. “There’s going to be a lot of conversations ... we have an entire year of substantive discussions in front of us.”

The bridge project will cost $92 million in city funds, which will not cover costs needed to renovate buildings on the island. And while officials want to create a continuum of services on the island, from recovery beds to job training, they have not yet set up a health provider or costs for creating those services.

Chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez said the island location was an important aspect of the planned recovery center.

“For some folks, recovery needs to be outside of normal daily routines and structures, some folks need to be away from those triggers and challenges that lead them down a path that unfortunately they make decisions that are not healthy for them,” Martinez said.