When Beverly Residents Can Next Weigh In On Hall-Whitaker Replacement Bridge

BEVERLY, MA — The first small steps in what could be a decade-plus process of replacing the closed Hall-Whitaker drawbridge and deficient Kernwood Avenue drawbridge will lead to the next public hearing on the projects planned for next month.

The state Department of Transportation said the 25 percent sketch plans for the temporary replacement Hall-Whitaker Bridge were submitted this spring and are currently under review with the review and comment resolution expected this month.

"After the review is completed and the plans are modified to reflect any changes, a Design Public Hearing can be held," MassDOT said. "This is currently being scheduled for late June."

MassDOT added that utility coordination is ongoing, borings are being scheduled for this summer and it continues to work with the U.S. Coast Guard and Bass Haven Yacht Club to collect data for the marina's requirements in the temporary fixed bridge.

When the state abruptly shut down the Hall-Whitaker Bridge last June, MassDOT officials said permitting and designing could result in 13 years of ongoing bridge work between that bridge and the structurally deficient Kernwood.

Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said during his State of the City address late in March that the 25 percent design of the temporary Hall-Whitaker Bridge would trigger the temporary bridge project permitting to begin before he outlined a revised process to dismantle and reconstruct permanent replacements for both bridges at the same time rather than in succession.

Once the new bridges are open to traffic, he said, the temporary bridge will be removed. While Cahill did not prescribe an updated target date to finish this process, he did say Beverly city and statewide elected officials "will continue pushing as hard as we can to move this project forward."

"We are determined to beat timelines whenever possible and restore these services to our neighbors and our community as soon as humanly possible," he said.

(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.)