Long-Delayed Waltham Bridge Project Near Finished

After length delays, the end of the Winter Street bridge project is within sight, according to state Department of Transportation officials.

Renovation of the bridge, which started in 2005, should be complete by “late summer of this year,” said DOT Spokesman Michael Verseckes in an e-mail to Patch. The contractor, McCourt Construction, has finished the new bridge deck and is working to complete the parapet walls, Verseckes said.

“Although the schedule is not finalized, it is anticipated that the remainder of the new bridge will be placed into service sometime in July or early August to allow the temporary bridge to be removed and the remaining work activities to occur,” Verseckes said.

At the same time, work will soon begin on revamping the intersection of Totten Pond Road, Wyman Street and Third Avenue, Verseckes said.

News of the project’s near completion comes five years after it’s original contractor, the Roads Corporation, folded and abandoned the work. As a result, the DOT chose McCourt Construction to complete the work, which delayed the project’s completion.

Work on utility lines around the bridge, however, also delayed the project. Originally, utility lines were to be spliced, but that would have further delayed the project, Verseckes said. Instead, the lines were moved away from the bridge area which, allowed McCourt to speed up work, he said.

“If the project is not finished on time, and there “are no justifiable reasons for an extension to the completion date,” Verseckes said, the DOT could impose a fine on the McCourt.

The project is estimated to cost $23 million, legal proceedings surrounding Roads Corporation’s leaving the project could change that cost. No fines, however, have been imposed yet.