ROWLEY - The wait is almost over for residents of Wethersfield Street and Dodge Road who have patiently awaited the rebuilding of three bridges badly damaged by the historic Mother's Day storm of 2006.

Designs and cost estimates drawn up by engineering firm Jacobs, Edwards and Kelcey have passed successfully through the town's historic commission and moved on to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for review.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Dave Petersen says if all goes according to plan, the construction jobs could be put out for bid this winter with at least two of the bridges completed during this coming building season.

Petersen says the process has been delayed and complicated by protocols the town must follow in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA, as well as several other local regulatory agencies.

"People are pretty unhappy they've been closed for so long, but it's a long process with a lot of red tape," he said. "It's been moving along at a snail's pace, but it's still on target."

Rowley was hit hard by the 2006 storm, when floodwaters breached many of the area's roadways, rendering them impassable. The Dodge Road and Taylor Bridges have been closed to traffic since the storm, with the Batchelder Bridge on Wethersfield reduced to one lane of traffic.

The town was classified as a disaster area at that time, qualifying it to receive monetary assistance through FEMA, which offered to pay a full 75 percent of the eventual bridge replacement costs. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has committed to paying between 12 and 25 percent on top of that.

The project was initially estimated at $2.5 million, but the actual price has come in under budget closer to $1.5 million. Of that, FEMA has already paid $70,000 toward design and start-up costs. From here on the town must receive its approval before spending more.

In the meantime, it is seeking approval and opinion from two environmental regulatory agencies with oversight on the project, the EPA and Rowley's own Conservation Commission.

Since all three bridges are located within the environmentally sensitive Mill River Watershed, they require special consideration. The commission will explore the matter further at its Tuesday meeting, when representatives from the town's engineering firm and members of the public will be present.

Commission staffer and conservation specialist Brent Baeslack will no doubt speak out in support of the designs, with only a few small caveats.

"My initial impression is very positive," says Baeslack. "I think the engineering firm has done a good job."

Baeslack explains that where the old bridge designs pushed the flowing Mill River through cement pipes under the roadway, the new designs raise the roadway up above the river, allowing the water to flow more naturally.

What was once covered up by roadway fill will be opened up to allow aquatic vegetation to flourish, encouraging critters that forage along the river to continue unobstructed downstream.

"It's nice to see designs that have these subliminal environmental improvements," he says.