State delays bridge repairs

SAUGUS – Much to the relief of local fishermen and at least one marina owner, the state highway department has agreed to push back the start date for repairs that will close down the Belden Bly Bridge.Business owners along Western Avenue remain concerned over road closures and traffic detours.Mark Jewell of Mass Highway and Drawbridge Supervisor Bill Bernard met with about a dozen businessmen and residents and a smattering of town officials Thursday to discuss bridge repairs that have already begun.The state has plans to replace the Belden Bly Bridge altogether but before it can get started it must build a temporary bridge. Permit delays with the Coast Guard have delayed the start on the temporary bridge, which Jewell said is forcing the state to repair the circa-1913 bridge despite the fact it’s slated to be demolished inside three years.Initially the bridge was slated to be closed October through March 2009 for repairs with traffic to be rerouted down Summer and Ballard streets and Lincoln Avenue.Jewell, however, said when he sat down with local lobstermen last week they made it clear that October and November were often their busiest months. He then confirmed that the bridge would not be closed until Dec. 15.Stoneham Boat Center owners Tim and Eileen Horgan said the closure was a double-edged sword for them.Eileen Horgan said initially she was horrified at the thought the bridge would close in October because it would have all but killed the boat storage portion of their business. While all the boats will easily be out of the water by December, Tim Horgan said it’s the other end of the project he worries about now.Jewell said the temporary repairs wouldn’t be finished until mid-May, which is late for pleasure boaters, but Horgan said the state seemed to be willing to work with them.Joe Russo of Russo Transmissions on Western Avenue was not as appeased as the Horgans. Russo said when the detours begin in December, his end of Western Avenue will be a ghost town.”I have core customers so I’ll be okay,” he said, “But my used car business and scooter sales will be gone because that’s all pass-by business.”His real issue however is the lack of communications. Russo asked Jewell why business owners along Western Avenue were never notified of the closing let alone a meeting about it. Russo said later he heard about the meeting from his father, a member of the Fox Hill Yacht Club.”From McDonough Square (Lynn) all the way down will be severely affected by this,” he said. “The total lack of notifying the businesses of anything that’s going on-you’ve got a lot of livelihoods you just put on the back burner.”Resident Peter Bogdan asked Jewell if he might petition the state house for financial mitigation for business owners. Jewell said he could look into it.Eileen Horgan said signage also worried her. Jewell said the state planned to erect plenty of signage as far out as Route 1 to warn drivers of the detours. Horgan however was looking more for signs that would remind residents that the local businesses are still open.”We all rely on traffic,” Russo said. “They said there was something like 125,000 cars on that road a day. This is going to be a tough impact.”