February 1,
2008
Dear Newbury and Rowley Residents –
Today is February
1st and the Parker River Bridge construction project is still on schedule. The
weather for the month of January was slightly better than usual and that
allowed additional progress on the project.
February 1st was also the day when work in the
water was slated to end until summer 2008. (You may recall that the Coast
Guard permit for the project called for all work in the water to stop
between February 1 and June 30th.)
However, the Coast Guard has now added
an extra two weeks to that time frame.
During that time, MassHighway expects that the south span (the one on
the Rowley end of the bridge) to be completely demolished. Following that, cranes on both sides
of the Parker River will be able to drive in sheet metal to complete
work on all four of the cofferdams.
Work
within those cofferdams is not considered to be “in the water” and
can continue through the winter. Also, construction work-days will continue to
be extended and Saturday work schedules may also be in
place.
Rep. Stanley has been on site twice this week,
which gives her a realistic look at project progress. She can also see first hand how much
havoc it has caused within your communities. To be fair, the project will continue
to be a hassle to residents and businesses. (On the other hand, our insistence
that things move more quickly has caused a little havoc with MassHighway and
the contractor, too!)
We will continue to stay on top of this and keep
you current on all news – both good and bad.
