Beverly Drawbridge Closure Forum Set For Thursday

BEVERLY, MA — Friday's permanent closure of the Hall-Whitaker Drawbridge after the state deemed it unsafe for vehicular traffic will be the subject of a public forum at Beverly High School Thursday night.

The meeting will be held in the auditorium from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Mayor Mike Cahill will host and speak at the meeting.

According to the state Department of Transportation, the bridge that carries Bridge Street over the Bass River was found to have "insufficient load-carrying capacity due to significant deterioration in the primary structural elements, warranting the closure of the bridge to all vehicular traffic."

The closing was announced on Wednesday and took effect Friday at 8 p.m.

Sidewalks on both sides of the bridge will remain open for pedestrians and bicycles and the swing span for marine traffic will continue to operate as a reduced schedule is evaluated.

Detours information is available here.

Plans to replace the bridge are under design.

"We are working diligently to communicate swiftly and accurately about this quickly developing situation," Cahill said last week.

The Department of Transportation will meet with city and state officials in the coming weeks to develop and provide updates on the future of the bridge location.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)