Chestnut Street bridge closed to all traffic through mid-May
The Chestnut Street bridge closed to all traffic on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, to allow a contractor to rehabilitate the 47-year-old bridge. The bridge will open to two lanes of traffic and at least one pedestrian sidewalk by Friday, May 19, 2023.
Chestnut Street vehicular traffic is detoured via Washington Street, Third and Fourth streets, Central Avenue and Main Street. Any one-way side streets will retain their one-way travel.
The pedestrian path that travels underneath the Chestnut Street bridge is expected to remain open except for a few days at the beginning and end of the project as contractors mobilize.
The project consists of removing the pavement, membrane and sidewalks on the bridge, repairing deteriorated concrete in the bridge deck, reconstructing the bridge sidewalks, and installing a new bridge membrane, new bridge pavement and new wearing-course pavement.
Detour map
Project history
During work on the bridge expansion joints a few years ago, the contractor noticed concrete delamination in the sidewalks. More recently the paved deck has shown some distress. Through a competitive bid process in 2018, the city contracted with engineering design consultant to GM2 Associates Inc. to to evaluate the bridge deck and create plans and specifications for repairs
The project consists of removing the pavement, membrane and sidewalks on the bridge, repairing deteriorated concrete in the bridge deck, reconstructing the bridge sidewalks, and installing new bridge membrane, new bridge pavement and new wearing course pavement.
The repair project was put out for bid in March 2022; however, the bid was not awarded due to bid pricing to be higher than planned. The bid was revised and more funding was added to the Fiscal Years 2024-2029 Capital Improvements Program adopted by the City Council in October 2022. The revised bid also allowed for the full traffic closure of the bridge; the Transportation Advisory Commission reviewed and approved the closure during its May 23, 2022 meeting.
The revised bid was issued on Oct. 18, 2022; the City Council awarded the bid to New England Infrastructures, LLC., for $2,100,000 at its Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, meeting.