Delays top concern at Bly Bridge hearing

SAUGUS – Traffic delays on both the roads and waterways were the main concerns raised during Thursday’s public hearing on the proposed Belden Bly Bridge replacement project.The state highway department has proposed the replacement of the steadily deteriorating Route 107 bridge. But Mass Highway Associate Engineer Steve McLaughlin said several things must fall into place before the project begins.Most notably a temporary bridge must be constructed to keep the roadway open. The plan is to erect a temporary drawbridge on the General Electric, or easterly, side of the existing bridge. That alone is expected to take nearly two years to complete.McLaughlin said the project could start as early as next fall, but before that happens he wanted to hear the questions and concerns of those who will be impacted most by the project.Lobsterman William Robinson, chairman of the town’s Waterways Commission and spokesman for recreational boaters, said his main concern is water traffic.Robinson said the fishermen weren’t looking for any compensation during the project, but they were looking for recognition.”We’re always secondary,” he said. “Our fishing fleet has been depleted, but we still have to go out there and make a living.”The Saugus River is the only access the fishing fleet and recreational boaters have to the ocean.When the temporary bridge goes in, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Robinson said that could pose a problem for the fisherman trying to come in with their catch come summer.Because the river is freshwater, Robinson said the lobster have to be pulled out of the tanks when the boats leave the ocean. If the boats are held up due to traffic on the bridge, they run the risk of losing their entire catch.McLaughlin said he raised an excellent point, but admitted he had no answers for him.”I am going to have to look into that,” he said.Robinson’s other major concern was simply having a contact should a crisis arise. He said the fisherman and boaters by and large were happy to see the bridge project take place, but they were also concerned that if something should happen, who would look out for them.The last time work was done on the bridge, Robinson said the fishermen were locked out of the ocean for eight weeks without so much as an apology.McLaughlin told the lobsterman that when asked by the commissioner what his biggest concern was regarding the project he said, “The lobstermen want to go to work.””The bridge needs to be replaced and we’re putting in as many controls as we can to keep the channel open,” he said.Other town officials, including Town Meeting members Joseph Palczynski and Peter Manoogian and Selectmen Stephen Horlick and Peter Rossetti, raised concerns regarding street traffic, sidewalk improvements and possibly road closures.McLaughlin said everyone’s concerns would be taken under consideration while they worked out the final details of the project.