Infrastructure funding spans vital bridge work
The start of National Transportation Week served as a backdrop for Monday’s appearance by 3rd District U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, Fitchburg Mayor Stephen Dinatale and other officials to highlight investments in that city’s infrastructure made possible through funding from the federal Infrastructure Law.
Those federal funds will be used to preserve the Circle Street Bridge and the Water Street Bridge over the Nashua River, and to replace the Water Street Bridge over Boulder Drive and the Pan Am Railroad.
These Fitchburg bridges constitute just a few of the hundreds across the state in dire need of attention.
Previous reporting in November by The Boston Herald indicated that 472 of the state’s 5,229 bridges were deemed “structurally deficient,” according to Federal Highway Administration data. Massachusetts ranks as the fourth worst in the nation in maintaining its bridges. There are 4,843 bridges nationwide in need of repairs with a collective price tag of $15.4 billion, according to the report.
Signed into law last December, the Infrastructure bill delivered more than $9.5 billion to Massachusetts, with more than $1 billion explicitly designated for bridge repairs.
Closed to vehicular traffic since last summer, the Circle Street Bridge is in a chronic state of disrepair, with multiple open areas in the concrete where the Nashua River can be seen below. The aging Water Street bridges, built in 1900 and 1937, each carry more than 20,000 cars daily, providing a vital access to the city.
According to Trahan, a Westford Democrat, the Circle Street bridge project will receive $2.6 million in infrastructure funding, supplemented by another $661,000 from the state.
The money will be used to replace the bridge’s steel beams and add a reinforced concrete deck, as well as accessible ramps on the south side of the bridge.
More than $15 million in federal funds will be used on the Water Street bridges, bolstered by another $4 million from the state. While the bridge over Boulder Drive and the Pan Am Railroad will be replaced outright, the Nashua River span will undergo treatment similar to the Circle Street Bridge.
According to MASSDOT District Engineer Barry Lorion, the Circle Street bridge will be advertised for construction in August, with a completion goal sometime in 2023. He also said the replacement of the Water Street Bridge is “about 50% designed,” while the two bridges would be advertised for construction in 2024.
Trahan also said she looks forward to future infrastructure projects, including future improvements to Route 2 or the continued construction of the Twin Cities Rail Trail.
Dinatale thanked Trahan for her continued work to secure much-needed federal funds for the city and state at large. State Sen. John Cronin, D-lunenburg, who was also in attendance, applauded Trahan and said, because of her work, Fitchburg has seen a “greater flow of federal funding than any time since the New Deal.”
While Mayor Dinatale and the other officials on hand should be rightfully excited by the prospects of these bridge projects, we’d advise they remain realistic about the odds of them being completed on time and on budget.
Supply- chain issues caused by COVID have hit the construction industry especially hard. Backlogs in orders for materials have extended timetables and driven up costs.
For example, the Central Street Bridge project in Lowell, a gateway to that city’s downtown, has been delayed for several months due to supply issues with the iron and other materials required for repairs.
Newly appointed Lowell City Manager Tom Golden, a recently resigned state rep and longtime member of Lowell’s State House delegation, has made the bridge’s repair one of his top priorities.
But rather than pour cold water on these encouraging developments, let’s remain cautiously optimistic, and dwell on the benefits Fitchburg will derive upon the completion of these bridge upgrades.