Revere councilor seeks safer bridge

REVERE – A Revere city councilor is seeking to make the General Edwards Bridge on Route 1A safer and plans to bring it up at the next City Council meeting on Jan. 9, he said Wednesday.John Correggio, who will begin his eighth year on the council next week, said he wants more signs at the base of the bridge warning people about the dangers of speeding over black ice.”I think we need improvement in lighting before the bridge and some kind of signal light that comes on saying slippery when wet,” Correggio said during an interview on the bridge where a Chelsea man died Monday morning.Black ice and speed have been named as potential factors in the crash by the State Police, who are still investigating the incident.Correggio said he saw more than a few bad accidents on the bridge during his 32 years as a lieutenant with the Revere Fire Department, and said he is certain accidents could be prevented if more drivers were aware of the dangers.”The road is very slick and icy, especially in the winter months when the temperature drops, and people don’t know enough to really slow down,” he said. “They get into a spin-out and don’t know how to control the automobile,” he said.Joann Sarro, vice president of the Point of Pines Beach Association, said they fully support Correggio’s efforts and will be at the council meeting to speak on his behalf.”There have been too many fatalities,” Sarro said, adding that she has seen cars and bodies pulled out of the freezing waters over the years due to speeding over the bridge.”It used to be 20 mph and then they upped it to 30 and we started having a lot more accidents.”Sarro had a harrowing experience of her own on the bridge about 30 years ago when she was new to the area and tapped her brake while crossing the bridge, causing her car to spin all the way around.”This is disgusting. It’s scary,” Sarro said as she looked at a piece of guardrail on the northbound side of the bridge that had been bent during an accident. Someone had placed a memorial wreath next to the damaged rail.It would likely be up to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to allow warning signs to be placed before the bridge, and Correggio does not see a lot of potential for problems getting the proposal passed. He plans to make the request by having the city council and the mayor send a letter after the city council meeting.”I think it’s no big deal – they put signs up all the time everywhere,” he said.Current councilman-at-large and mayor-elect Dan Rizzo said he hadn’t spoken with Correggio about his plans yet, but would back any efforts by the city council to prevent accidents on the bridge.”I would certainly support any motion the council put forward that would make our city safer,” Rizzo said. “I think bridges do create more of a hazard when they become slippery and if their goal is to implement more signage, I would get behind that.”Correggio said in the future he’d like to see permanent signs with lights that turn on to warn drivers when the bridge becomes slick, and suggested renovating the bridge to include grooves in the actual road that would help tires grip it better. But with the area due for plunging temperatures and bad weather any day now, Correggio said he’d like to see any kind of warning up as soon as possible.”Before we get the snow and bad weather, I’d like to see the signs up,” he said. “We don’t want to lose another life.”Taylor Provost may be reached at [email protected] Larger Map