Shrewsbury – According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), winter construction operations at the Burns Bridge on Route 9 over Lake Quinsigamond will result in changes from normal winter conditions on the lake.
Similar to last winter, construction operations will continue throughout the upcoming winter months. The bridge work will be performed from the lake using heavy equipment on barges. Materials, equipment, and workers are transported back and forth on a daily basis between the bridge site and the off-site staging area at the Worcester Italian-American Civic Club property, 231 Lake Ave., approximately 1,000 yards south of the bridge.
In anticipation of a typical winter with a frozen lake surface, the project team will be maintaining an open water navigation passage between the two sites.?The limits of this area extend from the Shrewsbury Police boat house to the Italian-American Civic Club. A minimum 100-foot wide channel will be maintained through the ice for the full length.
This channel will be marked with floating message boards and drums with lights and reflectors. This area must be avoided by all snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, skaters, ice fishermen, and anyone else on the ice.
In addition, the ice-breaking activities in the navigation channel may create fractured and shifting ice along the shoreline.
The Burns Bridge Replacement Project?will replace the current Burns Bridge with a new steel deck arch bridge, with completion in 2016. The project is a signature initiative of the Patrick Administration's Accelerated Bridge Program.
For more information, visit the project website at: www.mass.gov/massdot/kenburnsbridge.
