Roadwork ahead
![Roadwork ahead](https://furshoptulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Roadwork-ahead.png)
![](https://furshoptulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Roadwork-ahead.jpg)
NEW BEDFORD — Several bridges in and around the city are in bad shape, but they’re about to be fixed.
The I-195/Route 18 interchange, which has the worst bridges in the city, will be replaced starting next spring, say state officials. They also plan to repair another downtown overpass this year, and design work for the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge replacement is moving forward. A number of other area bridges have construction plans in development too.
The I-195/Route 18 interchange includes five bridges that state transportation officials consider “structurally deficient.” That means some of their components are in poor condition, and the bridges need more frequent inspections and repairs. It does not mean the bridge is unsafe to drive on, a MassDOT spokesperson said.
The project will replace the I-195 overpass above Route 18 and all four ramps connecting the two highways. It will also re-construct 1½ miles of road on I-195, the east-west freeway, from Shawmut Avenue to Fairhaven. Construction is scheduled to run from spring 2025 to fall 2029.
The existing structures date back to 1965. Pictures from recent inspections show crumbling concrete, deteriorated steel, and rusted pipes on parts of the interchange. The pavement is in poor condition on some ramps.
![](https://furshoptulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1713207530_300_Roadwork-ahead.png)
MassDOT will demolish and rebuild the freeway structures in two stages, first on the westbound side, then on the eastbound side. The project also calls for safety improvements, which will extend merging lanes and widen the shoulder. Each ramp will be closed for roughly a year.
Drivers will still be able to get on and off I-195 using other North End ramps at Coggeshall, Penniman, Cedar Grove, and Washburn streets, though they don’t connect directly to Route 18.
Those local ramps appear to offer much better alternate routes than two detours in planning documents. At times during construction, drivers getting on I-195 westbound or off I-195 eastbound will be directed to take a 15-mile detour to Mattapoisett and back, planning documents show.
The long detour route was chosen because MassDOT is required to keep detours on state highways and avoid using local roads, an agency spokesperson said. The Route 240 interchange in Fairhaven can’t be used because it would require drivers to make a U-turn, causing backups and problems for trucks. The North Street interchange in Mattapoisett is the closest option that keeps traffic off local roads.
The replacement project is in its final early design stages, according to MassDOT. Officials plan to put out requests for bids from contractors this summer.
The plan includes preliminary designs for improvements in the neighborhood below I-195: noise barriers, newly planted trees, new pedestrian walkways, and a new skate park under an overpass.
Some of those upgrades are the result of input from city officials, who’ve exchanged plans and feedback with the state, said New Bedford Planning Director Jennifer Carloni.
“They heard from the community and understood what our city means to us,” she said.
The state dropped plans to put up a wall under the overpass to separate the freeway from the neighborhood, after city officials complained it would also separate the North End from downtown, Carloni said. Her department also successfully pushed to make the area safer for pedestrians, she said.
Other South Coast bridges are scheduled for replacement or repair
Some other landmark bridges elsewhere in the South Coast have replacement or repair plans in the works.
About 6% of bridges in the South Coast are structurally deficient, slightly lower than the 8% statewide total.
!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();
The eastbound Route 6 bridge over Route 18 in New Bedford is one of them. The bridge, at Elm Street, fell into poor condition because of damage from a crash in 2023 — a truck carrying an excavator struck the overpass while trying to drive under it. Repairs to fix that damage are expected to be complete by the end of this year, according to MassDOT.
The New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge replacement is still in early design stages. State planners aim to start construction in 2027. The current Route 6 bridge, a span swing bridge, is in fair condition. But at 125 years old, it’s considered functionally obsolete and has needed an increasing number of repairs over the years.
A vertical lift bridge would take a year or so to build, while other designs could take three to five years. Earlier this year, MassDOT officials announced that they preferred a vertical lift design for the new bridge, but New Bedford’s planning and port directors responded with concerns that height limit could impact offshore wind staging in the harbor.
Related ⇢
A replacement project for the Route 6 bridge over the Weweantic River between Marion and Wareham is in final design stages, according to MassDOT. State inspectors consider the current bridge to be structurally deficient. Requests for proposals on that project are scheduled to go out this summer.
Still needing a replacement or repair plan is the South Main Street Bridge over the Assonet River in Freetown. It’s rated as structurally deficient because its deck, or its surface, is in poor condition. Rehabilitation work in 2019 repaired some stones in the bridge’s stone arch, but there’s a crack in the arch that “indicates that the bridge is in the process of splitting in two,” a consultant for the town noted in a study released earlier this year.
The study laid out a few options for repair or replacement. The bridge is owned by Freetown, not the state, so it’s the town’s responsibility to fix it. Freetown’s Highway Department referred requests for comment to the town administrator, who did not immediately respond on Monday.
Other landmark South Coast bridges are in better shape, officials say.
The Padanaram Bridge in Dartmouth is in fair condition, according to MassDOT criteria, and the state transportation agency had no update on plans for it. State officials appropriated $2 million for repairs in fall 2022, though that would only cover design costs. MassDOT has not taken any public action on the project since March 2023, when it held a session to consider the project’s scope.
There are no immediate plans to replace or make any major repairs to the Goulart Memorial Bridge in Fairhaven. The town hired an engineering firm to assess the bridge last year. The study showed that the bridge is safe and in fair-to-good condition, said Fairhaven Highway Superintendent Joshua Crabb.
Email Grace Ferguson at [email protected]
More stories by Grace Ferguson
The post Roadwork ahead appeared first on The New Bedford Light.