The state’s decision to give Saugus $500,000 to start the Water Street bridge’s replacement is a positive step in the right direction to eliminating dangers above area roadways.
The bridge is more than a century old and the state money will initially pay for what will probably be an expensive and time-consuming process to replace the bridge on the town’s border with Wakefield. It is hoped the Water Street bridge project is a hint at an accelerated state and federal effort to get aging and decaying bridges across the nation fixed or replaced.
Bridges in Massachusetts and other states were built, in many cases, to accommodate traffic from a simpler time when fewer vehicles moved across bridges and mega-trucks carrying enormous loads had yet to be invented.
New England weather and proximity in the case of coastal communities has hastened the demise of many bridges to the point where they have become dangerous potential disasters.
Bridges are never an easy fix. Anyone familiar with town bridges spanning the Saugus River knows the amount of time and traffic detouring required to get those bridges replaced and the work continues.
Bridge projects require detouring drivers or shutting down lanes and contributing to traffic tie-ups on already-overcrowded roads. They involve engineering and structural work that takes time and money to accomplish.
But bridge repairs cannot be ignored. News reports periodically highlight horror stories about concrete chunks or metal falling from elderly bridges onto vehicles. More than one bridge in the state has been closed down or posted with state warning signs prohibiting truck traffic.
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Ironically, the same strategy that set the stage for bridge construction across the nation 80 years ago makes sense today. The Great Depression spawned federal project agencies that built bridges and put the unemployed to work.
A new national commitment funded by federal dollars to fix up thousands of bridges needs to be entertained and launched. More exciting transportation projects or alternate energy endeavors should be put on hold in order to channel money into bridge building.
Municipal spending, even state dollars, don’t come close to covering costs for pricey bridge projects — even ones as relatively small as the Water Street bridge. Failure to repair and replace bridges will lead to an economic injury caused by detours and traffic tie-ups around closed bridges.