Woerd Ave Bridge Closed: Old Waltham Bridge Is Coming Down

WALTHAM, MA — After all the prep, it's really happened: The Woerd Avenue bridge is closed. If you head down Woerd Avenue past the boat ramp to get to the Island, you'll have to go a different route for the next two years. The Woerd Avenue Bridge is coming down. It won't reopen until spring 2021.

This is not a drill. Although there have been some temporary closures leading up to this, this closure will be in place 24/7 to allow crews to replace the bridge. This work is part of a multi-million project that is scheduled to be finished in 2021, according to MassDot and local officials.

There's a detour in place taking drivers to Crescent Street, Moody Street, Lexington Street and Rumford Avenue. Woerd Avenue will still be open between Crescent Street and Cove Street but for those who live there. It will also still be accessible from the south to abutters just north of Rumford Avenue. And yes, the boat launch will still be open.

The bridge is state-owned and has been on a list of bridges that need repairing for a while, according to Ward 8 City Councilor Cathyann Harris. Last summer the state needed the green light from the city to allow state crews access to the bridge. Without that, the state wouldn't have moved to renovate the bridge, which was built in 1900, where the cement pylons have been sitting in water, degrading. The mayor and Harris worked last summer with property owners last year to get temporary and permanent easements and the city approved a reserve transfer and work on the bridge last summer that allowed the state to go forward.

"It’s $4.3 million state funded project, if we hadn’t moved quickly last summer we wouldn't have this brand-new bridge in a year or two - or less. It’s really important," said Harris, who said that, while the bridge may not be completely unsafe now, it needed to be addressed before it got to that point.

Harris called the new bridge an improvement for river enthusiasts. It will have a larger opening below, to allow boats to have easier access beneath. And there will be paths on both side of the bridge added.

The work and temporary closures leading up to this week, were to prep the area, setting up an environmental boom in the water below the bridge to catch construction debris, and to prep the area for the bridge work. That work, done by the city, took much of May and June.

"Demolition is imminent," said Harris. And to prepare for that the mayor, a DOT project manager and her have had three meetings so far with the community to answer questions and reassure residents that they are taking precautions to preserve the river and wildlife.

Crews won’t demo the bridge in just one day, she said. They'll first construct a utility bridge to reroute the electrical and gas lines embedded in the old bridge before destroying the old bridge and creating a new one.

"Public safety won't be impacted," Chief Tom MacInnis told Patch. Firetrucks and emergency vehicles - and anyone - can still access the Island via Riverview and also by way of Rumford Road.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).