Lowell/Dracut bridge to open in July

The Massachusetts Highway Department’s resident engineer for the region expects the much-delayed reconstruction of the O’Donnell Bridge over the Merrimack River to be done by early July.

The news came in a letter written by MassHighway Engineer Mark Fedele in reply to a motion from Councilor Richard Howe, who is critical of the project’s holdups. Councilors received it before their meeting last night.

Fedele said the official completion date for the bridge, which carries School Street over the Merrimack River, is now Nov. 30, but the “realistic” date is actually mid-June to early July. Pelham-based S&R Contracting Corp., “has increased their work force and has worked closely with myself to expedite the completion of this project,” he said.

“I was surprised when asked to provide this update based on the idea that there has been a lack of progress on this project,” he said. “We have made every attempt to finish the project in a timely and efficient manner considering all the obstacles we encountered during this complete rehabilitation of two separate bridges in your community.”

The O’Donnell actually consists of two spans that appear seamless on the road surface. One is over the Northern Canal and the other bridges the Merrimack. Fedele said bridge work stopped for 254 days from last January to September, at the city’s request, while the University Avenue Bridge was closed for emergency repairs.

But he made no mention of the fact that the O’Donnell Bridge’s original completion date was November 2002.

Howe was incensed by the omission.

“When I received this letter, the first thing I thought of was the Big Dig and how it has become the ‘big disaster,’” he said. “We’re now (overdue) by more than two and a half years, and we still don’t have that bridge complete. It’s unfair to the people who have to cross the bridge and it’s unfair to the residents of the city.”

He said MassHighway owes the city a more detailed report.

3 Responses to “Lowell/Dracut bridge to open in July”

1. admin Says:
   April 28th, 2005 at 2:02 am

   Well it’s about time. Looks like just the middle lane needs to be paved now. Wonder how long that will take?

2. lowell guy Says:
   June 1st, 2005 at 3:58 am

   How is this a Lowell/Dracut bridge? Seems like the whole bridge is in Lowell to me. If I’m wrong maybe Dracut can send Lowell some of their property tax receipts to help pay the tab.

3. admin Says:
   June 1st, 2005 at 12:51 pm

   Cut through the back of the bowling alley and up about 1/2 mile is the Dracut line. It’s my shortcut in the morning.

Comments

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail