Restoration Project Selects Bridge Builder

BY THE INDEPENDENT OCT 26, 2022

Meetings Ahead

Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are being held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.

Thursday, Oct. 27

Natural Resources Advisory Board, 4 p.m.
Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.
Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.
Energy and Climate Action Committee, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 1

Recycling Committee, 11 a.m.
Select Board, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 2

Herring River Stakeholder Group, 3 p.m.
Conversation Starter

Restoration Project Selects Bridge Builder

The select board agreed on Oct. 18 to hire MIG Corp. of Acton to construct the Chequessett Neck Road bridge and begin the Herring River Restoration Project’s construction phase.

The MIG Corp. bid $29,835,430 — the lowest of four bids — to complete the temporary bridge, the permanent bridge, and the sluice gates. Once the nine sluice gates open beneath the 165-foot bridge, tidal flow will be gradually increased to the portion of the river upstream and damage done from diking in 1909 will start to be corrected. Nearly 1,000 acres of salt marsh has degraded there over the last century.

Total funding for the restoration comes from two grants, one from the state and the other federal, amounting to $50 million towards the estimated $62-million restoration project. No Wellfleet town funds will be required for this phase, said Carole Ridley of Ridley & Associates, who is the Herring River Restoration Project coordinator.

The other bids were $34,440,700 from JF White, $34,700,000 from Manafort Brothers, and

$41,386,660 from SPS New England, according to the select board’s meeting packet.

Nils Wiberg, the chief water resources engineer for project consultant Fuss & O’Neill of Rhode Island, said MIG also constructed the Eagle Neck Creek culvert under Old County Road in Truro. The Eagle Creek project ran several months longer than expected because precast elements installed around the culvert settled and shifted in the mud and peat, requiring installation of a concrete base.

That was not MIG’s fault, Wiberg said; MIG suggested a fix that saved about $35,000, he added.

“It was a diligent decision,” he told the select board. “So, my observation with MIG is they are forward thinking and forward acting, and if they see a potential issue they have been very transparent about advising us so we can minimize cost changes.”

Next, the bridge design must be approved by the state Dept. of Transportation. Ground-breaking is expected in March or April. —K.C. Myers

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