Walsh: Boston not ‘at war’ with Quincy over bridge
The mayors of Quincy and Boston won’t budge in the battle over the Long Island Bridge and residents are getting caught in the crossfire.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh told the Herald yesterday that Boston isn’t “at war” with Quincy. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch has vehemently opposed a plan to rebuild the Long Island Bridge, which was taken down for safety reasons in 2014. His office said yesterday that hasn’t changed. Estimated to cost $92 million, the new bridge would allow access to a long-term opioid recovery facility slated to open on Boston’s Long Island.
“I’m frustrated that they don’t seem to be able to resolve it,” said Naomi Zottoli, who lives along Squantum’s narrow stretch of road that leads to the bridge. “When we in the city of Quincy can’t resolve our border issues with Boston, how can we expect the Israelis and all other countries having border issues to resolve theirs?”
The bridge closure displaced 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. It is unclear how that timeline might be impacted by pushback from Quincy.
Koch, pushing for a ferry service, went as far as banning commercial vehicles from driving to the site of the proposed bridge in May. Around the same time Walsh announced a plan to float the bridge parts into the area by barge.
Yesterday, Walsh said the two have recently been having “meetings” and “conversations,” about the project.
“We’re not at war with Quincy,” Walsh said.
“There are some people concerned about what the Long Island Bridge means to their neighborhood and I can appreciate that and we’re going to continue to work with people and try to explain that what’s happening there is not going to impede on their privacy.”
Dorchester Street and Long Island Road in Squantum, the only route to the bridge, can’t handle that level of traffic, according to Quincy mayor’s Chief of Staff Chris Walker.
“They weren’t built to provide access. … It’s a public safety issue; it’s a quality of life issue,” Walker said. “There’s a fundamental disagreement and there’s been no change in that.”
The residents in Squantum have been enjoying some peace and quiet and an improved quality of their roads in the meantime.
“It’s been wonderful,” Zottoli said. “From my perspective, and I think a lot of other Squantum residents, we are hoping that that bridge is not rebuilt, especially where we in Quincy cannot even go out there… there’s absolutely no benefit. Only the cost of bearing traffic and more road use.”