By Kim Siebert MacPhail
After receiving a $1350 quote from a structural engineering firm to assess the safety of the unauthorized bridge built by residents over wetlands near Lantern Lane, The Conservation Commission unanimously voted to change course and move ahead, instead, with securing designs for a new bridge.
“It’s stupid to pay someone to tell us we need a new bridge when we know we need a new bridge,” said Conservation Commission member Andreas Uthoff. “We’d rather spend the money on the bridge itself.”
Uthoff explained that bog bridges being built by the Trails Committee are meant for smaller areas of wetland and are not appropriate for the area off Lantern Lane. “We need something more substantial there,” he said. “If you step off a bog bridge, you might get a wet shoe. [At this site], you’d be stepping into much higher water.”
Conservation Chair Tim Gray said that the unauthorized, citizen-built bridge will remain in place until a new bridge can be installed. A request for proposals (RFP) will go out to attract bids for the new bridge’s design and construction.
According to Gray and Uthoff, both the Trails Committee and the residents who built the current bridge will be involved in the process going forward. “We want the residents’ input and involvement,” said Uthoff.
The Trails Committee is a subcommittee of the Conservation Committee and is also chaired by Tim Gray.
To read two previous Bedford Citizen articles about the Lantern Lane bridge, visit:
https://thebedfordcitizen.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/unauthorized-bog-bridge-gets-a-reprieve/
Loading ...
Are you kidding me? What a waste! Is there is no better use of money and resources that the Conservation Commission could come up with? What message does this send to the community?