Construction is about to begin!
Newburyport News Article.
June 8, 2013
Early work starts on Whittier Bridge
Construction expected to start later this month
By Mac Cerullo Staff Writer
AMESBURY – Preliminary work on the $292 million Whittier Bridge reconstruction project is underway as state crews have begun drilling test borings to prepare for the impending construction of the new bridge’s foundation.
Michael Verseckes, a Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesperson, said that while the majority of the progress being made is still in the design phase, people driving over the Hines Bridge will occasionally notice crews working on the river next to the bridge.
“There are three things going on, survey work, delineation of wetlands and other sensitive resource areas, and then drilling test borings, on land and in water, in order to advance the foundation design,” Verseckes said.
Verseckes said the exact construction schedule won’t be set until the final design plans are completed, but he expects the heavy construction to begin later this month when crews will begin building the new bridge’s foundation and eventually the piers that will support the new bridge.
In the meantime, there will also be some road improvements made on the existing bridge later in order to keep the bridge in serviceable shape for those who drive over it now, he said.
First built in 1951, the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge carries Interstate 95 over the Merrimack River and was named after the poet and abolitionist who called Amesbury home. The bridge has served as a key link in the state’s highway transportation network for 58 years, but is structurally deficient and is nearing the end of its economic life.
Over the next three years, the existing bridge will be replaced and the new bridge will be wider, safer and built up to current standards. Throughout the course of the project, three lanes of traffic will remain open in both directions, so motorists should see minimal disruptions in traffic flow. The project is expected to be completed in 2016.
The construction plan calls for the bridge to be built in two phases. First a new bridge consisting of four lanes and two breakdown lanes will be built next to the existing one, and once completed the existing bridge will be torn down, traffic will be diverted to the new bridge, and another four lane bridge will be put up in its place.
Once the second new bridge is completed, the southbound highway traffic will be diverted again, and the end result will be two adjacent bridges with a small gap separating them, with each side carrying four lanes and two breakdown lanes of traffic in each direction.
There will also be a third breakdown lane left over once the project is completed as well, and that lane will be converted into a pedestrian walkway and bike path. It will be the first time in Massachusetts history a pedestrian/bike path will have been installed on an interstate bridge.
The Whittier Bridge is one of five Accelerated Bridge Program projects known as “mega projects” by the MassDOT. It is the only project in the state to have been designated as a presidential priority by President Barack Obama.
In February, the MassDOT announced that the project had been awarded to the joint venture of Walsh/McCourt for $292,155,280. The project is being paid for entirely with federal funds.
