BEVERLY, MA — North Shore residents who use the Hall-Whitaker and Kernwood drawbridges in Beverly are now two years into what will ultimately be a decade-long process to build a temporary fixed replacement for the currently closed-to-traffic Hall-Whitaker, and subsequently build a permanent moveable replacement for both the Hall-Whitaker and the deficient Kernwood bridge.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials speaking at a public hearing at Beverly Middle School on Thursday night said the temporary bridge is now at about 50 percent of the design and permitting process with construction on the temporary bridge on schedule to begin next year.
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Officials said that the temporary bridge is scheduled to be open to traffic in late summer 2027.
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At that time, work will begin to demolish and replace the current Hall-Whitaker bridge as well as replace the Kernwood bridge. That process is expected to take another five years with both permanent bridges to open in 2032, at which time the temporary Hall-Whitaker bridge will be dismantled.
Officials said pedestrian and bicycle passage will be preserved through the construction of both Hall-Whitaker bridges. The temporary bridge will also be able to handle all emergency vehicle traffic for the duration of the time it is open.
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“One of the charges that we had was trying to restore traffic as quickly as possible,” MassDOT District Highway 4 Director Paul Steadman said. “(Going forward with just putting in a new permanent bridge), part of the issue that we have with that is the timing that is associated with two different things. Not only the design, the length of time that the more complex permanent, moveable bridge will require. But also extend of the permitting, the environmental permitting that’s associated with that. Then, lastly, the duration required to construct a permanent bridge is a much more complicated project.
“The other thing that has led us to the proposal that we have now is that the last time we were here (in the fall) we heard loud and clear that maintaining the ability for pedestrians and bicyclists to get across the river was vitally important. If we demolish the existing bridge and build a new, permanent bridge in its place, we have no way to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists throughout the duration of that construction. So that was one of the things that led us to the proposal that we have to construct the temporary bridge to the side of the permanent bridge and was something the community and commentary we heard was very important.”
Some easements on either side of the current bridge will be necessary to accommodate construction, officials said, with affected residents compensated for the temporary easements.
The environmental permitting process — seen as one barrier to a more expedient replacement project — was begun in August to help speed up the process to the extent possible. But officials said allowances for spawning American eels will prevent work that disrupts the waterbed at the Hall-Whitaker location from April to June, and September and October, each year, while work will be prevented at the Kernwood location from February to October.
Officials said most marine traffic at the Kernwood location would largely remain open throughout the process.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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