About Haverhill

6-year Basiliere Bridge Rebuild Timeline Signals Lack of Urgency, 

Invites Cost Overruns

Haverhill received big news recently that the long-awaited rebuild of the dilapidated and heavily-used Basiliere Bridge crossing the Merrimack River and connecting the Bradford side of the city to the downtown side will finally begin this month and cost an estimated $252 million. 

Anyone who has driven over the unsightly 100-year-old bridge -- and that’s pretty much anyone who lives in or has visited Haverhill -- what a harrowing trip it can be. Large trucks have been banned for more than a decade. Swaths of the uneven and pothole-dotted span are regularly closed.  The underside shows massive slabs of missing concrete and boaters regularly tell of watching large pieces splash into the river below. 

City officials have been publicly warning of potential collapse since the early 2000s. Curious wooden structures reinforcing the underside were installed two years ago.

The most notable and concerning part of Mass DOT's recent announcement, aside from the fact the project is finally about to begin after 20-plus years of urgent pleas from city officials and residents, is that construction is scheduled to take at least 6.5 years from start to finish. SIX AND A HALF YEARS!!! 

Residents who are paying attention immediately decried the long construction timetable while apologists and those who believe anything they are told by their government superiors took to social media to defend and justify the timeline and tell everyone what a complicated project the rebuild is going to be. 

The plan is to keep at least one lane of traffic open at all times, as much as possible, on the city's busiest stretch of roadway. Time will tell what "as much as possible" means. The new span is to be wider that its predecessor, include bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks, and recall in its design its original, historical architecture.  

But here's one thing you can be sure of: A more than six-year work schedule will provide little sense of urgency for those in charge for a job in which expediency should be paramount for the city's most important artery. 

You can bet it will be 4 or 5 years from now before those overseeing the project will even begin to feel any pressure to finish the job. Such a forgiving and lengthy timelines also provides built-in excuses for cost overruns.  It all seems like the opposite of holding someone's feet to the fire, which should be the course. 

Also important to consider: The state is rebuilding the Basiliere Bridge during the same time that Lupoli Companies is opening the new Merrimack Street garage and developing 100s of new apartments and retail space literally at the foot of the downtown side of the bridge. Certainly, that Merrimack Street Redevelopment project, existing Harbor Place development, and downtown commerce and aesthetics in general won't be able to hit its full stride and potential until the new bridge is completed…sometime in the 2030s. 

Project: Pfc. Ralph T. Basiliere Bridge Reconstruction Project (built in 1925 to carry Route 125 over the Merrimack River)

Website: https://www.mass.gov/basiliere-bridge-project-haverhill

Timeline: Construction is expected to start this fall and last about six and a half years. 

Cost: $252 million

Design: New bridge will feature separate lanes for vehicles ad bikes and include a sidewalk and scenic overlooks

Aesthetics: Granite from existing bridge piers is being repurposed for retaining walls along the Bradford Rail Trail running underneath, and copper roofs from the old lookout towers are being used for new gazebos.