DCR meets with residents about bridge projects, safety concerns

by Sandra Miller
Back Bay Sun
Residents invited to a meeting at the Boston Public Library (BPL) were able to air their concerns about pedestrian and bike access that will be disrupted during a major overhaul of area bridges.
Part of Gov. Deval Patrick's $3 billion Accelerated Bridge program, designed to create jobs and stimulate the economy by fast-tracking long-overdue bridge repair projects, the BPL meeting provided an overview of 29 bridges that need replacing or major repairs, and maintenance work on another 50 bridges. However, most attending the event were interested in Charles River basin bridge projects.
"A great number of people are concerned with bicycle and pedestrian issues regarding the bridges," said Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) spokesperson Wendy Fox. "DCR is in the process of hiring a consultant in the next couple of months whose sole responsibility will be looking at the whole Charles River basin and planning bike and pedestrian access and safety issues."
The DCR will also hold public meetings to address individual bridge projects, the first project which will target repairs and rehabilitation work on the BU Bridge and Craigie Dam and drawbridges, both of which cross over the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge.
On January 27, from 6 to 8 p.m., the DCR will hold a meeting on these projects, to be held at MIT's Stata Center, 32 Vassar St., Cambridge
"It's an exciting project," said DCR Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan Jr. "It shows great leadership and vision, and in the long run it will bring construction in cheaper over the next decade, so we can take advantage of cheaper pricing now and beat inflation."
The "accelerated" portion of the project means that a lot of projects will be happening all over the state in a short period of time. But Sullivan said they are working with the Executive Office for Transportation and other agencies on the least disruptive sequencing of the project. "We are focused on the public process and getting public input, and we are committed to looking at pedestrian and biking access," Sullivan said.
Other Charles River Basin projects planned for 2009 include the Magazine Beach pedestrian bridge in Cambridge and the Mystic Valley Parkway over Alewife Brook in Somerville.
The DCR is working with Mass Highway and Boston Transportation Department officials to minimize traffic that will impact residents. For this summer's projects, the Craigie and BU bridge repairs will impact traffic around the Back Bay, West and North ends, and Beacon Hill. "This agency will do everything it can to minimize traffic problems," said Fox.
"We know the traffic patterns in Boston, and we want them to hear our opinions," said BTD Deputy Commissioner Jim Gillooly. "We try to work out a traffic plan to try to minimize traffic."
Gillooly cautioned that while public comments are welcome, he hoped the project would occur as soon as possible to make the project go faster. "Nobody should forget … the quicker the work gets done, the quicker it goes away. Being overly cautious extends the process forever. When you do an enormous amount of work, you'll have hiccups," he said.
One attendee at the hearing was concerned about more than “hiccups”. In fact, she felt that the larger picture isn't being considered, she said.
"The devil is in the sequencing," said Jeannette Herrmann, who is active in transportation issues for the Beacon Hill Civic Association. "These projects need to happen. However, it's extremely unclear how they all happen in short order. All of the Charles River Basin projects have an effect on the downtown neighborhoods. We really wish the state would look at the regional state transportation issues as we enter the design phases for these projects -- the role of the Mass Pike ramps is critical. Whether you do the Craigie or the BU bridge first, there's more to this."
Herrmann believes the DCR and state and area traffic departments are all working hard on communicating with each other, but she thought this wasn't translated in the BPL meeting. "I wish we were hearing more about transportation planning rather than simply construction sequencing. Residential life in the downtown neighborhoods is a fragile balance that we need to maintain, that respects issues of accessibility for businesses and residences. If we become a vehicle congested neighborhood surrounded by highways, we will have lost something really, really precious," she said.
The $7.2 million Craigie Dam bridge construction is slated to occur soon, with a summer 2010 completion; the $44 million Craigie drawbridge also will begin soon, with a summer 2011 completion. The $26 million BU bridge deck replacement also begins soon, and will finish up in the summer of 2011. The $2.3 million pedestrian walkway is currently in the works, with only one side open to pedestrian and bike traffic at a time. It is slated to be completed this summer.
Meanwhile, the $5.6 milion Bowker overpass over Storrow Drive is slated for a summer 2010 completion, while repairs to the Storrow Drive Tunnel has no end date scheduled yet.
The Longfellow Bridge repairs to steel beams under the road bend are also finishing up, with the next project to complete the pedestrian path, said Fox. However, the more major $256 million Longfellow renovation, which has already had some advance work, begins in 2011 and is scheduled to finish in 2015.
"They're working to make sure things don't fall in," said Rep. Marty Walz, who is monitoring the Craigie Bridge projects to make sure bike lanes are included. "It's a very contentious issue," said Walz. "The bridges should be designed to include bike lanes."
As for the BU Bridge project, Walz is concerned about the pedestrian section of the bridge, on both the Cambridge and Boston sides.
"Those sidewalks are a high priority," reassured DCR's Fox.
The Accelerated Bridge Program by DCR and Mass Highway is a huge investment in state bridges over the next eight years. Not only will this fix a number of structurally deficient bridges, but it also creates jobs in this dire economy.
"DCR is probably going to be adding another 50 or 75 engineers," said Fox, who heard that statewide, the Accelerated Bridge projects will also generate thousands of construction jobs.