New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge Corridor Study
Study Advisory Group (SAG) Meeting Summary
December 11, 2014
Buzzards Bay Coalition 114 Front Street
New Bedford, MA
Ethan Britland, Project Manager for MassDOT, welcomed Study Advisory Group (SAG) members. He said
that the study team would review short, medium and long-term alternatives, including design options to
replace the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge.
HDR, a consultant firm hired by MassDOT to conduct the study, made a presentation to the SAG and
fielded questions from the group throughout the meeting. Short and medium-term improvements
discussed included modification to traffic signals, upgrades to sidewalks, and additions of bike lanes and
modernizing variable message (ITS) signs that report whether the bridge is opened for vehicular or
marine traffic. Long-term improvements consider the replacement of the swing bridge. Ethan Britland
said the MassDOT would monitor traffic conditions, which is the focus of short and medium-term
improvements, and phase-in these improvements as needed. For example, a short-term improvement
may not be needed immediately (1-2 years) but necessary in 7-8 years, rather than in a shorter time
frame.
HDR Traffic Engineer Reddy Edulakanti reviewed the traffic analysis conducted. Currently conditions at
signalized intersections in the corridor are good, with the exception of the Kempton/Mill/Purchase
Street intersection. After receiving feedback at the last SAG meeting, the team took a second look at the
Adams Street intersection and determined that some incorrect inputs had been used in the traffic model
and that existing and projected conditions were not as bad as originally reported. He reviewed the
traffic analysis projected conditions for the year 2035 with and without modifying traffic signal cycles.
With recommended improvements to the functioning of traffic signals, signal length, now two and one
half minutes (150 seconds) delay at some intersections, can be reduced to 90 seconds when the bridge
is not opened for vessels.
John Weston, Project Manager for HDR, said the traffic analysis of current conditions was affected by
the ongoing construction in the bridge area. The bridge traffic counts in April 2014 were 11,500
vehicles/day, down significantly from 24,785 vehicles/day in 2010 as people found other routes to use
to avoid construction. He said that it will take about a year for traffic conditions to “normalize.” How
much traffic returns to the bridge from I-195 after construction is complete is currently unknown.
John Weston reviewed a potential roadway realignment on Pope’s Island. The four travel lanes are
reduced to three travel lanes to accommodate the addition of a 7-foot bike lane in both directions. Two
lanes are provided in each direction leading up the middle bridge and controlled turn lanes is provide
access to properties on Pope’s Island. Currently, there is not room for a bike lane on the middle (swing)
bridge. When the current bridge construction ends, travel lanes will be restriped with 11-foot wide lanes
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and a two-foot wide the shoulders will be re-striped to indicate a 2-foot shoulder. This is less than
MassDOT’s standard (minimum of 5-feet) for a bike lane but better than the 6 inch shoulder before
construction.
SAG members discussed the possibility of reducing the existing four lanes to three, with the middle lane
serving as a turn lane. This might allow for the creation of bike lanes. Four travel lanes may not be
necessary as the motorists who have diverted to another route during construction may not come back
to Route 6. Bill Travers of MassDOT District 5 said that his district has concerns about a possible
bottleneck caused by reducing the number of travel lanes and that more analysis would be needed.
Other proposed bicycle/pedestrian improvements include a new sidewalk connection on MacArthur
Drive and replacement of the pedestrian staircase on the north side of the bridge near Route 18 with a
ramp. A new bicycle/pedestrian path along Route 6 to Pleasant Street to Route 18 is proposed.
The study team also proposed upgrades to existing and new ITS/variable message signs. Ethan Britland
said that MassDOT has begun developing improved ITS systems with real time information.
Peter Davis, an HDR movable bridge expert, summarized the pros and cons of three bridge types that
were identified as potential design options. The key considerations used in HDR’s analysis were:
maintenance of traffic (roadway and marine), impacts to local businesses, aesthetics, construction
requirements and costs. The three bridge types are:
1. Vertical-Lift Bridge: This bridge type could provide a navigational channel width up to 280-feet
and a maximum air draft of 120 feet. The current width limitation is 150 feet, or the width of the
hurricane barrier. This bridge type would create minimal disruption to vehicle and marine during
construction. The tall towers that would be needed to lift the bridge may raise aesthetic
concerns. The bridge would be floated in and installed over one weekend. The estimated cost is
$90-$120 million.
2. Double-Leaf Bascule Bridge: This bridge type offers a horizontal width opening of 150 feet and
unlimited vertical clearance. It requires the most lengthy road closure (18-24 months for
construction) and one marine channel would be lost during construction. It would have
significant environmental impact during construction from dredging the foundations for the lift
mechanism that would be located below the roadway surface. The estimated cost is $85-$100
million
3. Single Leaf Bascule: This bridge type provides a navigational channel width of 150 feet and
unlimited vertical clearance. The lift mechanism is located above the roadway rather than below
the roadway surface. Closures during construction include three months for the roadway, two
months for the west channel, and one long-weekend while the new bridge is floated in and
installed.
Throughout the presentation SAG members posed questions and made comments.
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Traffic and ITS
Q: How do traffic improvements at Purchase Street [Octopus Project] impact vehicles traveling
east/west? The streets there are marked inaccurately. It is a difficult intersection to maneuver for cars
going south.
R. This is a City of New Bedford project and it is limited by the amount of funds available as it did not
receive Chapter 90 funds from the state.
Q. Was the Route 6 off-ramp to the Octopus intersection evaluated by the team?
R. Yes.
C. It’s good to learn the ITS system will be improved because it is not working properly now.
R. MassDOT has someone on board to look into the current system and to incorporate technological
advances into how to better communicate with drivers. MassDOT is moving toward utilizing data from
cell phones in its variable message signs. In the future, real time data will be more readily available to
motorists.
Bicyclists and Pedestrians
C. There is a big need for improve bicycle connections coming off the bridge headed west towards
downtown New Bedford and Whale’s Tooth station.
C. Why not consider building a multi-modal pedestrian/bicycle path on the south side of the bridge?
Bicyclists do not need to be on the north side as there is nowhere to go to from that side of the bridge.
It’s a better concept that putting cyclists on the road where it is narrow.
R. A sidewalk, four feet wide at a minimum, will be needed on the north side of the road, especially to
access businesses on Fish Island and Pope’s Island.
C. Crossing the bridge on a bicycle is pretty scary.
Q. How much education is there in this plan and signage to educate bicyclists on how to properly ride?
R. There are education programs conducted by the two bicycle committees as well as a Safe Routes to
School program.
C. But how much of this education is trickling down?
Bridge Types
C. If the new bridge is designed for a 150-foot opening, then this is going to limit the design to a lift
bridge. If it’s a vertical lift, then a 120-foot air draft would be needed. A vertical lift creates another
obstacle – height. The bridge was designed for 1881 standards when the widest vessel was 57 feet. I’d
like to see a width far wider than 150 feet because otherwise you’ll need additional tugs and pilots to get
through and vessels will need to pay attention to tides and winds.
R. As a rule of thumb, moveable bridges should be three times the width of the typical vessel in use. In
New Bedford this would mean 200-225 feet wide.
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C. It is short-sighted to consider construction time as an important factor when selecting a bridge design.
A new bridge will be serving New Bedford for a very long time. We have the patience to live through
construction to get the bridge that will best meet our needs.
C. The real issue for bridge design is the depth of the water. The authorized federal channel depth should
be used as a benchmark for bridge design.
R. The area needed for a vessel to turn is a more limiting factor than water depth.
Q. What is the current bridge under clearance? What will the three bridge types accommodate?
R. Right now it is 6 feet. The under clearance will be 14 feet on the new bridge while still keeping the
roadway at a maximum of 5% grade.
C. That will be good as the under clearance needed for emergency vehicles is 12 feet.
Q. Which bridge type will cause the biggest problems when it breaks down?
R. This factor will be included in our analysis. Still, even a new bridge will need to be shut down
periodically for maintenance.
Q. Considering the No Build Alternative, will we see how much money has been put into maintaining the
existing bridge over the last 30 years? We need to take the cost of repairs into consideration.
R. Yes, we will take these costs into consideration in our evaluation.
Q. Is it possible to have visualization of the three bridge types so the public can have an idea what the
different bridges would look like? It would be powerful to show their visual impact, especially from a
pedestrian and business perspective. The Pope Island perspective is the most important view. This bridge
will be part of our skyline so it would be good to be able to be able to see the visual impacts of the
different bridges.
Q. Have you ever faced replacing a similar type of bridge and situation to what we have in New Bedford?
R. This bridge is similar in purpose, context to many bridges. Bridges of this type and era are usually
iconic structures with construction, technical and aesthetic constraints that need to be considered when
replaced.
At the conclusion of the meeting, next steps for the project were reviewed, including the further
refinement of the alternatives and a public meeting to be held in early 2015.
The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.
Meeting Attendees:
Bill Roth, Town Planner, Fairhaven
Bill Travers, MassDOT, District 5
Paul Mission, Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District
Ed Washburn, Port of New Bedford
Mary Rapoza, City of New Bedford
Jill McLean, City of New Bedford
Jean Fox, MassDOT (South Coast Rail)
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Al Medieros, Rep. Tony Cabral’s Office
Theodore Lorentzen, Fairhaven Improvement Association
Buddy Andrade, Old Bedford Village
Project Team:
Ethan Britland, Project Manager, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
John Weston, HDR
Stefanie McQueen, HDR
Pete Davis, HDR
Luigi Casinelli, HDR
Reddy Edulakanti
Jill Barrett, FHI
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