What's Going On With The Wayside Inn Road Bridge?

SUDBURY, MA — You might've noticed that the Wayside Inn Road bridge in Sudbury is now just one lane with a temporary light alternating traffic. That light is just the first step in a multi-part process to repair the bridge after a car accident over the summer.

On July 4, a car smashed into a parapet on the north side of the circa-1890s bridge. As a temporary fix, the town installed jersey barriers for safety. This week, crews began a project that will last through Dec. 31 to fix the bridge.

But that fix is also just temporary.

After the July accident, the public works department suggested that the town could use an off-the-shelf MassDOT plan to fix the Wayside Inn Road bridge. That pre-made plan would save the town time and money, the department said at the time.

But the bridge is in the Wayside Inn Historic District, and so the Sudbury Historic Districts Commission needed to approve any replacement plan. On Aug. 29, the commission voted 5-0 against using the off-the-shelf MassDOT plan.

So what then? The temporary fix being worked on right now will be good enough for the next two years. At Town Meeting 2020, members will vote on a custom design for a permanent fix. A budget for the fix will be voted on at Town Meeting 2021.

Final final construction to fix the bridge won't begin until 2021 or 2022, according to Board of Selectman Vice Chair Pat Brown.