I am afraid I have been remiss over the Whittier Bridge. Other than a whole lot of inconvenience during the time the bridge is upgraded, I failed to understand the impact on Newburyport. Turns out, according to Bill Harris, a whole lot of good! Yes, good!
Since the bridge is basically historic (named after John Greenleaf Whittier complete with a memorial at one end of the structure), the destruction of the original bridge and the inconvenience toward the surrounding communities, the Federal Government may have to mitigate the entire process. In simple layman terms, they have to compensate to the local communities for all the trouble they will generate. Of course, they’re hoping the local governments will just roll over and play dead and they have to do nothing.
Mitigation could mean money for traffic relief. It could translate into money toward historic preservation as compensation for destroying an historic span. It could mean funding toward a community’s infrastructure, etc.
Basically, the key is to recognize the opportunities and pursue them. The meeting is tonight at City Hall auditorium, from 6-8 PM.
Let’s see what happens! Here is the notice on what will be discussed.
-P. Preservationist
Brick and Tree 