Cooperation leads to 1st highway bike path

At a Massachusetts Mayors’ Association meeting on Sept. 28, Amesbury Mayor Thatcher Kezer and Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday said regional cooperation was the key to success in creating the first bicycle/pedestrian path on an interstate highway bridge.

The existing 57-year-old, six-lane Interstate 95 bridge over the Merrimack River will be replaced with a new eight-lane structure that will include bicycle and pedestrian lanes.

According to the mayors, the agreement to include a bicycle and pedestrian path was a result of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation working directly with them and Salisbury Town Administrator Neil Harrington.

“Newburyport, Amesbury and Salisbury officials worked together, meeting at least twice a month with DOT to address issues,” Holaday said.

Improved bicycle and pedestrian access was the top priority identified by local officials and residents, including connections to Maudsley State Park and Moseley Woods, the Ghost Trail and other bicycle trails.

“In order to rebuild the bridge in an expedited fashion, MassDOT had to build two additional lanes,” Kezer said. “What to do with those lanes once the bridge was complete was the state’s problem. Our problem was we needed bicycle and pedestrian access across the river. Those two problems were combined to come up with a solution – a highway that will also include bicycle and pedestrian lanes.”

The estimated $285 million design-build project is one of the largest in the MassDOT Accelerated Bridge Program and was recently selected by the Obama administration for an expedited permitting and environmental review process.

The project is expected to be advertised for bid next spring.