Public meeting regarding Middle Street / Plummer Spring Road Bridge

The City of Newburyport and the Town of West Newbury will jointly sponsor a public meeting on Monday, September 23, 2019 beginning at 7:00 PM to review design alternatives and preliminary cost estimates associated with the reconstruction of the Middle Street / Plummer Spring Road Bridge. The meeting will be held in the 1910 Building, First Floor Hearing Room, located at 381 Main Street in West Newbury. The meeting will be televised on West Newbury local cable TV, with the meeting video to be available online the following evening on the West Newbury YouTube channel.

The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic last summer following a failure in the spandrel wall. The City of Newburyport secured a Small Bridge Program grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to support engineering and design of the replacement bridge. Since that time, the two communities have been working together with the design engineer, BSC Group.

The design engineer recently completed a number of conceptual design alternatives, including preliminary cost estimates. The purpose of the upcoming meeting is to invite public review and comment. Key issues to be reviewed at the meeting include roadway width, pedestrian accommodations, bridge type, railing type, vehicular speed control and traffic safety, and project costs.

Taking into account public comments received, costs, and other factors, the two communities will select a preferred conceptual alternative to allow BSC Group to proceed with final project design and permitting. Once permitting is complete, and a final estimate of construction costs is available, the project is expected to be proposed for funding based on an agreed cost share, and offset by further grant monies as may be obtained.

For further information regarding the bridge project, please contact DPW Director Wayne Amaral at 978-363-1100 x120 or dpwdirector@wnewbury.org.

More information regarding this project, including the conceptual design alternatives and preliminary cost estimates, can be found online at https://www.wnewbury.org/department-public-works/pages/middle-streetartichoke-river-bridge