By Katie Farrell
Staff writer
July 21, 2008 01:03 am AMESBURY — State Sen. Steven Baddour said he is confident a bridge program proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick that would accelerate a reconstruction of the deteriorating John Greenleaf Whittier bridge will be approved by the end of the month. Baddour, D-Methuen, called the program "a well-thought-out plan." "It is realistic," he said. Patrick unveiled his eight-year, $3 billion bridge repair program earlier this year. The program would accelerate repairs to between 250 and 300 bridges that are labeled "structurally deficient," including the 57-year-old Whittier bridge. The proposal has been passed by the House and will be voted on by the Senate by the end of their session, July 31. The aging, rusting Whittier received poor marks during a state inspection last year, according to a just-released report. On a rating system of 0 to 9 (zero being failure and 9 as excellent), the Whitter's superstructure got a 4 — or "poor" — primarily because of problems with its stringers, floor beams and lateral bracing. The bridge remains safe for motorists, state highway department officials said. Baddour said he has been approached by constituents voicing their concerns in the wake of reports by The Daily News that bracing from the bridge appeared to be falling from the underneath of the Interstate 95 structure that spans the Merrimack River between Amesbury and Newburyport. He's even been asked how he feels about driving over it. Baddour said the bridge is safe and he relies on reports from Mass. Highway engineers. "It is structurally sound," he said. But Newburyport Mayor John Moak said he worries about the condition of the bridge. "The fact that they are being addressed, I don't know if it eliminates the concern," Moak said. "You are wondering how much longer these risks that are supposedly not dangerous to vehicles, how much longer can they no longer be dangerous to vehicles?" Still, Moak said that the state is now creating a time line on when it plans to fix the bridge and that there is a management plan getting developed. He found that at least somewhat comforting. "It certainly puts you in a mode of anticipating, with some sort of confidence, that these problems can be taken care of," he said. "It is good to see that the state is doing this; I think they are beginning to do it the right way." If Patrick's plan is accepted, the state would borrow $3 billion over the next eight years to accelerate repairs or construction on the state's aging infrastructure. "I'm confident it will be on the governor's desk by the end of the session," Baddour said. Baddour said the governor worked closely with the Legislature to assemble the list of bridges. In-depth discussion was had about the costs of such a plan, Baddour said. "That's one of the areas we talked a lot about," he said. Baddour said he gets daily briefings from Mass. Highway about the Whittier bridge. Due to the status of the Whittier bridge, the state will inspect it each year. Mass. Highway officials said last week they expect to be in Amesbury even before the one-year anniversary of the last inspection, Aug. 25, and could arrive as early as this week. MassHighway officials said they are hopeful that the construction of a new bridge will begin within the first five years of Patrick's bridge program and will be completed within the eight years. Anthony Komornick, the transportation program manager for the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, said last week that group has been aware of the need to address the aging bridge "in one form or another" for at least a decade. A replacement of the bridge, including widening it to four lanes, is the preferred option, he said. "It will get rid of the bottleneck that you have now," Komornick said. Komornick said the state has been paying "quite a bit of attention" to the Whittier. "We're certainly in favor of an accelerated bridge reconstruction program," he said, adding that it will be better to do those projects sooner rather than later as the costs of materials continue to escalate. "It's better to do it now than to do it later," he said. Staff writer Stephen Tait contributed to this report.
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