Beverly Mayor Pushes For More Progress, Resident Meetings On Bridge Replacement Projects

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill this week pushed for more community meetings involving the repair and replacements of the closed Hall-Whitaker and deficient Kernwood drawbridges, as a written progress report from state transportation officials focused more on design and permitting updates over much indication of when a temporary Hall-Whitaker may be in place.

The report did say that the state Department of Transportation "made a request to all regulatory agencies to expedite permit application reviews and approvals in order to accelerate the construction advertisement date by four-to-six months and maximize the amount of work possible in the first construction season."

Cahill, however, said the city has been pushing state and federal agencies and officials to hold another public meeting to provide in-person updates and field resident questions and concerns since its last community meeting in June, and formally requested another public update meeting this fall.

"They stated that the design public hearing on the proposed temporary Hall-Whitaker Bridge that will take place once bridge sketch plans have been approved is the most productive next checkpoint for an in-person meeting," Cahill said. "Therefore, we continue to urge them to get that work completed.

"We are currently trying to get MassDOT to agree to the next meeting in Beverly to take place in February," Cahill said. "Whether this meeting takes place in February or later, we will keep pushing."

The MassDOT update said its most recent work in November consisted of technical reports, sediment and water quality sampling and sketch design plans.

Its stated next steps include reviewing and finalizing environmental regulatory applications and getting them approved, meeting with the Bass Haven Yacht Club to review, develop and finalize a plan for season boat travel during the temporary bridge construction and use, finalizing any right-of-way land acquisitions necessary for the temporary bridge and, at some point, setting a design public hearing for the Hall-Whitaker temporary bridge.

"The team continues to advance the permanent bridge designs of both Bridge Street over Bass River and Kernwood Avenue over Danvers River," state officials said. "In addition, MassDOT has already completed one maintenance contract on the existing Kernwood Avenue bridge with a
second more substantial maintenance contract to begin in 2024."

MassDOT officials at the June public meeting said that the target for having a temporary replacement of the Hall-Whitaker Bridge — which was ordered closed to auto traffic 18 months ago — at that point was the middle of 2027.

Demolition of the current Hall-Whitaker Bridge and construction on the new permanent drawbridge would then begin upon the opening of the temporary fixed bridge in 2027.

At the same time, work will be done to stabilize the deficient Kernwood Bridge pending the completion of the temporary Hall-Whitaker Bridge before that bridge is rebuilt as well.

MassDOT representatives said the timeline for both permanent bridges to be completed is 2032 — about three years sooner than the original 13-year timeline proposed in the first public meeting following the Hall-Whitaker closure 18 months ago.

MassDOT officials said there are no plans to take any homes as part of the right-of-way for the temporary bridge.

Some of the regulatory hurdles are environmental and have to do with restrictions on the time of year when certain river floor construction that disrupts the silt can be done because of protected spawning fish.

(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.)