No Ordinary Pothole

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - Drivers in Maynard found themselves facing yet another detour this afternoon, when a hole opened up in the pavement of the Memorial Bridge, the bridge that carries Main Street traffic and pedestrians over the Assabet River in the center of town.  The hole was large and deep enough that state officials were concerned that the very structure of the bridge was possibly compromised.

Because of the situation, the bridge was temporarily closed in both directions.  Personnel on site this evening told me that the hole, although significant in size, did not appear to extend all the way through the bridge deck.  If the inspection underway shows that the bridge will be safe once the hole is filled in, later during the night, the work should be completed by morning.  However, if more serious damage is found, the bridge may have to be closed for a longer time.

The bridge is located on Main Street where it intersects Walnut Street, just a few yards down from the CVS Pharmacy.  Traffic headed west, from Nason Street or the CVS parking lot, was required to pass back through the center of town, go up Summer Street, then down Florida Road, to rejoin Main Street at the Post Office.

Alternatively, drivers could to turn left, head up Walnut Street, then turn right on Thompson Street, and work their way back around to Main Street on the other side of the Mill Pond.

By late afternoon, engineers and construction crews had arrived to assess the damage.  In order to inspect the structure beneath the bridge a truck with a special articulated boom was brought in.  The truck, known locally by Mass DOT (Department of Transportation) crews as "the snooper" was able to lower engineers on a platform down below and under the bridge itself, directly over the river below.

When I arrived, around 9:15 PM, the truck was already deployed, and is visible at the left of this photo.  Other members of the repair crew had to delay work while the inspection was going on.  This view is from the corner of Walnut Street, with Mill & Main to the left.

Because it was dark by the time I was able to take photos, and because I needed to keep a safe distance, I could not get a photo of the inspection process itself.  After returning to post this story, I obtained a photo of a similar unit from the manufacturer's web site.  This type of equipment allows for quicker inspections, day or night, in order to speed up repairs and get traffic flowing in a minimum amount of time.

The photo below was taken from the Assabet River Rail Trail pedestrian bridge just a few yards up river from the Memorial Bridge. You can see the river as it passes directly under the bridge, at the center of the image. (Story continues, below)

The photo below, shows the work getting underway.  I took it from the opposite direction, with the Post Office behind me and Mill & Main to the right.

According to Maynard Public Works Director, Justin DeMarco, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT) has sole responsibility for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of this bridge.   Therefore, our local Public Works department was not involved in the repair and local taxes are not impacted.  DeMarco stated that Mass DOT has implied that the bridge will be replaced some time in the near future, but at this point, "... we have no confirmation of when, and what the impacts or implications will be for the Town of Maynard."

 Commentary

The official name of the bridge is Memorial Bridge.  It was built in 1922, just a few years after the end of World War I.
By now it is almost 102 years old, similar in age to the Florida Road bridge, that was rebuilt over the past few years.
Clearly this bridge is showing similar signs of wear and deterioration, having endured weather and traffic all these years.

Construction to replace the Florida Road bridge began in early 2022 and was completed by the end of 2023, just under two years.  However, there is much more to the story because of how long it took before that to "get in line" on the state's roster of bridge replacements, work up the design, apply for the necessary permits, and finally secure the funding to go ahead.
The world is a very different place from what it was in 1922, when the Memorial Bridge was constructed. In general, towns can no longer afford to fund the replacement of bridges such as this one, so the state has assumed responsibility for all aspects of the cost, scheduling, design, and construction.

The old Florida Road Bridge, just before it was demolished to make room for construction.

The new Florida Road Bridge, seen from the opposite direction, as it looked just after opening, on 6 November 2023.

The challenges facing the replacement of the Memorial Bridge are greater than they were for the Florida Road bridge because of the amount of traffic it handles and it's critical location for Maynard's traffic flow.  Florida Road was more of a "shortcut" for drivers, heading up to Summer Street.  The detour was inconvenient, but we managed.
However, Main Street carries Route 62 traffic between Concord and Acton, to the East, and on to Stow, and Route 495, to the west.
But that's not all.  As the state has grown in population over the last century or so, more and more bridges were built that now need replacing.  This story explains some of the challenges we face in getting this work done:
https://mass.streetsblog.org/2022/08/31/its-not-just-the-t-analysis-finds-unusually-large-backlog-in-commonwealths-bridge-repair-needs
In the mean time, we're stuck paying for necessary repairs (from state funds) until a replacement can be scheduled.

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