State Delegation Joins Town to Remind Residents About Bridge Repair

September 25, 2020
State Representative Ken Gordon (l) and State Senator Mike Barrett (r) standing on The Great Road / Rte 4/225 bridge across the Shawsheen River. The bridge will be repaired between Friday evening, October 2, and the morning of Monday, October 5.

 

Bedford’s legislators looking down at the Shawsheen River from the bridge that is scheduled for emergency repair from the evening of October 2 through the morning of October 5.

The bridge on The Great Road spanning the Shawsheen River near Stop and Shop Plaza will be closed for repairs from the evening of Friday, October 2, to the morning of Monday, October 5.

State Representative Ken Gordon (D – Bedford), Senator Mike Barrett (D – Lexington), and Bedford Town Manager Sarah Stanton remind residents to seek alternate routes, if possible. The work will be contained within one weekend.

The rehabilitation plan was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) after a recent Bridge Rating Report found that several of the bridge’s beams have an extremely low carrying capacity. The weekend of important repairs will restore the safety and structural stability of the bridge while minimizing inconvenience to residents and businesses. The bridge will re-open before the Monday morning commute and school bus schedule.

Get The Bedford Citizen in your inbox!



“Given the current structure of the bridge, there is no getting around the necessity of these repairs. However, I am happy that MassDOT will be able to make them so quickly and with such little inconvenience to the town,” said Rep. Gordon when the construction was first announced. “Drivers will be detoured for the weekend, but it is a small price for a safe and stable bridge for years to come.”

The bridge across the Shawsheen River will be closed for emergency repairs on the first weekend in October – Click to view the full-sized image

Town and state officials have already begun posting signage reminding commuters of the interruption.  Police details will direct traffic around the Great Road construction via Brooksbie Road (Route 62), Page Road, and Shawsheen Road. The sections of Great Road between Brooksbie Road and the west side of the bridge and the sections of Great Road and Shawsheen Road and the east side of the bridge will remain open to local traffic.  Pedestrians may continue to use the separate pedestrian bridge during the construction, which is located immediately southwest of the bridge.

“Even a short-lived traffic tie-up is frustrating, but a failure to act could end up in something much worse,” said State Senator Mike Barrett. “We’re grateful to the town and the state for coming together on this.”

Town Manager Sarah Stanton added that getting this project done is the result of strong collaboration between the town, Bedford’s statehouse delegation, and the Department of Transportation.

Rehabilitation of the bridge will be completed under a District-Wide Scheduled and Emergency Bridge Structural Repair contract. More information on the project and traffic impacts can be found here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

All Stories

What’s Bedford Thinking about the Red Sox?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Junior Landscaping
Go toTop