Possible new bridge, from Mayor Walsh's office.
Mayor Walsh's office is filing plans with the Boston Conservation Commission today to replace the bridge to Long Island with a similar $92-million span.
To get around opposition from officials in Quincy - who have proposed banning construction vehicles from the roads leading to the Quincy end of the bridge, Boston would use barges to bring the larger pieces into place for assembly into a bridge that would let Boston build a new campus on the island for people who need drug and alcohol recovery services. The current plans do not, however, include any homeless shelters.
The proposed span would be similar to the one that was torn down in 2015 before it could collapse: One lane and walkway in either direction, with a channel near the middle of the bridge for boats to pass. The bridge would mostly use the old bridge's pilings and supports, which were left in place.
City officials emphasized the new facilities would care for anyone who lands up in Boston regardless of whether they were originally Boston residents. Marty Martinez, the city's chief of health and human services said:
Boston is a healthcare hub, with state-of-the-art hospitals and addiction treatment facilities that draw people in need from across the state to seek care and access a path to recovery. We are proud to offer these inroads to care, regardless of a client's origins, and we look forward to building out Long Island to further support all of the most vulnerable who come to us seeking help and support.
Increasingly furious Quincy officials, however, are having none of it. WBUR reports one Quincy city councilor talks darkly of hidden plans and says a boat should be good enough to get people to and from the proposed campus.
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Comments
None of this smells right.
By Eddie
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 10:26am
I'm all for addict services on the island and support a bridge.
However, I'm sensing the long game is to develop the entire thing like that nauseating eyesore Spinnaker Island and move the medical services back to Methadone Mile.
Oh no!
By Parkwayne
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 11:26am
More tax income for the city for under-used space! The horror...
build the bridge with barges
By anon
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 10:56am
and put toll plazas on all inbound roads from quincy to pay for it.
lets see how quickly the trolls of quincy back down when they can no longer drive over the neponset river bridge into boston for free.
Try this on for size ....
By obfuscation
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 4:19pm
I live in Quincy ... in sight of Squantum. I cannot drive to Quincy's borders with any other town in less than 20+ minutes in the morning due to commuters from other towns to the south using my city's roads. Let's put tolls at the Fore River Bridge and other portals to teach them a lesson.
Also, trolls live under bridges; they don't drive over them.
hey, pay it southward. the
By anon
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 4:54pm
hey, pay it southward. the whole south shore has had it made for years with no tolls into boston, while the west and north have. time to even the playing field.
Sell it to Amazon
By Bagatelle
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 12:03pm
Setup a bidding contest between UMASS/Amherst and Amazon HQ2. Perfect location for Amazonians, they won't screw up traffic and can build whatever they want. They also have the money to build a new road that will pass over squantum.
I can't believe Walsh did nothing about the bridge.
By bulgingbuick
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 12:17pm
I can't believe Walsh wants to build this bridge.
Walsh doesn't care about those that need treatment.
Why is Walsh spending this money on a bridge when...
Use ferries instead of a bridge.
Why use ferries?
Does anyone else see the pattern of people that argue one way then the other on this issue depending on the date of the Uhub post on this ongoing "bridge" drama?
My .02¢
By tcf098
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 12:20pm
Did you guys know Boston Harbor's islands are considered an archipelago?
Carry on.
The anti-archipelago movement seems to be gaining steam
By bulgingbuick
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 12:38pm
in Quincy.
My final comment (probably)
By Gary C
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 1:23pm
Both a bridge and a ferry have their pluses and minuses. If we are planning to spend $92+ million on a bridge, I'd just like to hear that the administration actually looked at the ferry option and have them show the public why they decided the bridge was the better plan. If they DIDN'T carefully examine the ferry option then the idea to push ahead with the bridge is highly egregious.
Volunteers need flexible access to the facility
By space2001
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 2:37pm
Not only clients and service personnel need access to the facilities, but there are a number of regular folks who were volunteering there before the Long Island facility closed.
Did everyone who is envisaging for a ferry instead of a bridge consider how much more challenging it would be for volunteers to get there? Volunteers, unlike employees, are unable to work fixed hours. Having to board a ferry at certain scheduled times would make it nearly impossible for many of the volunteers to get there and get back within a reasonable amount of time.
Say someone wants to volunteer two hours each week, how do the people supporting the ferry idea suppose that these volunteers would find the extra two - three hours that would be needed to access the facility using a scheduled ferry service? What if the ferry isn't running and the volunteer shows up and has to return empty handed?
Perhaps volunteers are not needed any more in the eyes of ferry supporters?
I have been to the island once; a volunteering arrangement fell through because even when using the old bridge, driving there and back was an arduous exercise. Adding in two ferry rides would make it nearly impossible, especially for folks who are not in the south shore region.
Based on just the volunteering aspect alone, a ferry-only approach looks supremely dumb to me. But, of course Quincy folks will employ every excuse there is to scuttle the bridge - no surprises there.
A point to consider but doesn't break the camels back
By Gary C
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 9:19pm
Sounds like it was a pain to take the old bridge. If you're not in the South Shore, bridge or ferry will still be a pain.
I'm advocating 10 ferry trips a day, so basically hourly. That shouldn't add hours to a trip there. If you live in Quincy, yes it will be much slower. If you live in Brookline, it'll probably be quicker.
Again, I don't have 100% rock-solid answers, but I fear that Walsh doesn't either.
How do second and third shift
By anon
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 11:55pm
How do second and third shift workers get there and back? Swim? A ferry is way too expensive.
My final comment (probably) also
By Parkwayne
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 3:04pm
Personally I think the ferry solution is worse than the bridge BUT I tend to agree with others that really these services and shelters should just be located in the main part of the city. For example, partially at the Shawatuck.
ferry vs bridge, etc
By HM
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 2:52pm
From what I read back when the bridge was closed, ferries were declared an untenable option due to the size of the facility and the legal/insurance requirement that emergency services (fire, ambulance) be able to access the island quickly with their specialized vehicles when needed with such a large population.
Regarding the cost, I also heard that a lot of the facilities on Long Island had recently been renovated at the time the bridge was closed (can anyone confirm this one way or the other?). This would have made the closing particularly frustrating, as a lot of money had just been invested, and perhaps explains in part the mayor's willingness to invest more in the bridge.
No way this bridge is being built just for Chernobyl lite
By O-FISH-L
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 4:08pm
I agree with Eddie and some of the other comments above, Walsh is not building a bridge for the small number of people served on a vast island that resembles present day Chernobyl. This smells like Boston 2024.
Nearly every major building out there was dilapidated long before the bridge closure, that's why it took only minutes to evacuate the place. I'm sure independent inspectors (not under control of the City) would have condemned the shelter years ago also. The smaller addiction programs used slightly newer, small buildings but served a tiny number of people.
Walsh will front the money for the bridge then be "shocked, shocked" that none of the city buildings are salvageable. Then a connected developer will "generously" agree to build a new shelter on a tiny, obscure part of the island in exchange for a 99 year lease on development rights worth billions.
Don't believe the Boston-Quincy battle either. Fake news. Walsh and the Quincy Mayor are best friends, even co-hosting a fundraiser for a fellow Dem this month. Quincy will settle quickly for a piece of the pie. Follow the money, as always.
This.
By Melissa
Wed, 05/02/2018 - 4:17pm
O-FISH-L wins. Summed up exactly right.
Not quite
By boo_urns
Thu, 05/03/2018 - 10:09am
Koch left the democratic party (over abortion, no less). http://www.patriotledger.com/news/20180207/koch-le...
It's also an awfully cynical view that's dabbling quite a bit in conspiracy theory. But you two do you, I guess.
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