State representative Bill Straus announced that Mass Highway will shortly be identifying a design firm and negotiating a scope of work agreement ahead of holding public hearings and developing the design. “I have been working on this for quite a while with state highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver because of the importance of the bridge as both an important road corridor in our area and because it is critical to the functioning of our harbour,” he said. “The existing bridge is just too old for its design and function.”
The swing bridge, which connects the communities of New Bedford and Fairhaven across New Bedford Harbor, is functionally obsolete. It constrains marine traffic and its opening results in delays to road vehicles.
