Basiliere Bridge Update

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for continued interest in the replacement of the Private First Class (PFC) Ralph T. Basiliere Bridge. On Monday, February 16th, exploratory borings will continue in either the northbound (towards downtown Haverhill) or southbound (towards Bradford) lanes of the Basiliere Bridge as part of investigations for the design of the replacement bridge's foundations. The hours for this operation will be Monday-Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM from February 16th through February 20th. The hours of this operation have been extended to ensure it will be concluded prior to the commencement of environmental restrictions on work of this type over the Merrimac River. A police detail will be present to help traffic flow smoothly.

To create a safe work zone around the exploratory boring operation, the lane in which it is taking place will be closed. Only one direction of traffic will be closed at a given time and a single lane of traffic in each direction over the bridge will be kept open throughout the operation as will both sidewalks. Neither temporary closure will require a detour and all turning movements at the intersections of State Route 125/Middlesex Street and State Route 125/Water Street/Merrimac Street will operate as normal.

Please also note that these exploratory borings do not represent the start of major construction operations for the replacement of the Basiliere Bridge but on Thursday, March 5th at 6:00PM MassDOT will host a public information meeting to introduce the construction phase of the bridge replacement project. The meeting will take place at the Pinnacle at Harbor Place located at 2 Merrimack Street in Haverhill. For more information about the public meeting, please see www.mass.gov/basiliere-bridge-project-haverhill.

Regards & Good Wishes,
-The Basiliere Bridge Replacement Project Team