Safety 'Primary Concern' During Burns Bridge Replacement

Information submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation

MassDOT is in the process of replacing the Kenneth F. Burns Memorial Bridge, which carries Route 9 over Lake Quinsigamond between Worcester and Shrewsbury. The replacement of the Burns Bridge is taking place under the Patrick-Murray Administration’s historic, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program.

As in all of its projects, public safety is a primary concern of MassDOT with regard to the replacement of the Burns Bridge. Construction will continue throughout the winter and as such a channel of open water will be maintained between the bridge itself and the staging area approximately 1,000 yards to the south of the bridge on the Worcester shore. This channel will be kept free of ice, beyond a skim which may form overnight or on weekends, by the regular passage of work boats and barges and will be marked out by a warning system consisting of floating signs and lights.

As the Lake is the site of significant winter recreation such as snowmobiling, cross country skiing, ice skating and ice fishing, and because the maintenance of the open channel represents a major departure from usual wintertime conditions on the Lake, MassDOT and its project team have prepared the attached flier to help the community understand how they can safely enjoy the Lake during the winter.  

Share this safety sheet (attached to this article) as broadly as possible. The plan to maintain the open channel and the warning system to define it has been reviewed and approved by the Lake Quinsigamond Commission.

Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to visit the project website or contact Stephanie Boundy, MassDOT public outreach coordinator at stephanie.boundy@state.ma.us or 857-368-8904.