It’s been 100° outside for several days, so it seemed like a good time for a couple of Groveland Bridge updates. Things are moving along, so look for another next week.
As of today, the Bates Bridge reconstruction is 1% done.
The new bridge will be located approximately 60 feet downstream from the original bridge. The entire project will cost about $50 million and will be built by Cianbro Construction of Maine, the low bidders.
The project also includes reconstruction of approach roadways in both Haverhill and Groveland. Traffic signal and geometric improvements at the intersection of Groveland Street with Lincoln Avenue in Haverhill and at the intersection of Groveland Street with Main Street (next to Elm Park) in Groveland are also included.
Construction has been designed by the Massachusetts Highway Department and will be overseen by MassDOT, which is the new executive office of transportation that oversees all agencies.
MassDOT maintains that the existing bridge will remain open during construction…and I am taking them at their word.
At 1% completion, one significant problem has already happened—discovery of an old (possibly oil-filled) cable on the bottom of the Merrimack River. This cable was a surprise—and no one found it during project design and permitting. It will need to be removed to allow the installation of the bridge piers.
Cianbro also started tree removal on both sides of the bridge. Some of you were concerned by that, but MassDOT had told us that all the necessary permits and approvals were in place. (We’ll be confirming this with the communities.) The exception to that may be 4 trees on the Groveland side at Elm Park, but these probably won’t be dealt with until sometime next year.
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