WEST NEWBURY – Closed to vehicles for more than seven years, the Middle Street/Plummer Springs Bridge on the border of West Newbury and Newburyport now has a deck over the Upper Artichoke Reservoir, the drinking water supply for both communities.
According to West Newbury officials, construction on the project is ahead of schedule, although peat was discovered in the ground below the bridge, which would not support the bridge’s foundation. The peat is scheduled to be excavated this summer. The schedule was delayed two months earlier.
Costing West Newbury and Newburyport each $275,000, the bridge is scheduled to be completed before November. The bridge’s construction costs are offset by a $1 million-grant to West Newbury from the state’s MassWorks and separate MassDOT Small Bridge grants to West Newbury and Newburyport of $750,000 each. West Newbury also used $25,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds in January 2024 to support on-going expenses needed to secure these grants.
In addition, both communities are getting reclaimed granite from the old bridge that they can use for other projects.
The bridge, closed in 2018 when a spandrel wall failed, was designed by engineer, BSC Group and is being built by the S&R Construction. •
