One day back in October, the stairs from Echo Bridge down to Ellis St. suddenly were blocked off. A sign said that the stairs would be closed for “a few weeks” for repairs. The sign had a name and a number to call if you have any questions.
Now that months have gone by, with no signs of any progress, I decided to call. The number belonged to Len Cawley at the Mass Water Resource Authority (MWRA), who told me the whole story.
Hemlock Gorge Park is the property of the state Dept of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and Echo Bridge runs through the middle of it. The bridge and the stairs belong to the MWRA rather than the DCR.
They had reports that some of the wooden risers and treads on the stairs were in tough shape. They sent a carpenter out to replace all the wooden risers and treads and when he removed the old ones he found that the wrought iron base that they were attached to was seriously corroded. So a small and easily manageable job suddenly turned into a big job.
The MWRA is in the business of water and sewers, not parks and public facilities. They have no money for this kind of job and its likely to be fairly expensive. He said they’ve been asking around, trying to find out if there’s somewhere they could get the budget from, but didn’t sound too hopeful that it would happen any time soon. So at the moment, the stairs are closed “till further notice”.
This is reminiscent of the problems a few years back when the wrought iron barriers on the top of the bridge were deemed unsafe due to corrosion. The MWRA first announced that the bridge would be permanently closed to pedestrians. After a hue and cry from the public, and involvement of the aldermen, the Friends of Hemlock Gorge, the DCR, and others, a compromise was forged. A cheap and simple chain link barrier (aka snow fence) was installed inside the rotted railings and the bridge reopened again to the public.
I was there when they were taking down the wooden treads and had a nice conversation with the two MWRA guys doing it. At the time they felt that there were a few spots of steel that required replacement and didn’t think it was a big deal; a little cutting and welding, it’s not rocket science. I’m sure it’ll now be Big Dig part 2.
I’m guessing rather than Big Dig part 2, the more likely outcome is no stairs for years … or forever.
Wow, that’s a big loss! Guess we need another big hue and cry!
Isn’t this the kind of issue the Friends of Hemlock Gorge usually mobilize around?
Looks like a job for the CPA!
@Steve: Great idea! But can we still have a “big hue and cry”?
Paging Alderman Yates….
@Greg – If you work on the “hue”, I’ll take care of the “cry”. Steve , CPA funding would be a great solution if it qualifies. I don’t remember what the qualifying categories are but I’ll find out.
I just had a very informative 10 minute conversation with Alice Ingerson, Newton’s CPA Program Manager. She gave me a quick overview and here’s my laqyman’s report.
Yes, it does qualify in principle for CPA funding (historic preservation) but it sounds like there’s a number of substantial potential obstacles along the way.
* In order to qualify for CPA funding, the owner of the property (MWRA) would have to agree to a permanent historic preservation restriction (I might not have the exact term right) on the property. In the past, the state (in this case the MWRA) has not been agreeable to those kind of restrictions on their property.
* The MWRA would have to be the CPA applicant. The CPA funding process is a fairly lengthy and somewhat complicated process. For some organizations, that’s part of what they do. The MWRA’s job though is water and sewer pipes. They’re not in the the parks/history/public amenity business. Getting the MWRA to engage in that process is not a natural fit.
* There’s roughly 40 times more CPA projects being applied for than there is funding for them. i.e. a small fraction of applications will be funded. Before you start down that path there’s no way to get a good handle on the likely chance of success.
* The question of CPA funding for Echo Bridge came up a few years ago when they were dealing with the rotted railings on the top of the bridge. A CPA funded project to deal with the whole bridge (railings on top + stairs) would make more sense, and probably be more likely to be funded than a project to address one piece (stairs) while the rest continues to crumble. A project for the whole bridge would need CPA approval from both Newton and Needham’s CPA committees.
* Any project likely to be funded would also need a long term detailed maintenance plan with identified funding. Once again, state agencies tend to buck when municipalities try to impose detailed restrictions like that upon them.
So it is certainly possible to fund that work via CPA but it most likely wouldn’t be an easy, fast or simple process.
BTW – the idea that a whole bridge project would be easier to fund than just the stairs is my personal take based on their funding criteria rather than an official stance by the CPA folks.
I was just driving down Ellis Street around 1:00 p.m. and saw two MWRA trucks parked under the Bridge with workers outside the trucks. just across the street at the foot of the stairs I saw Jerry Reilly taking notes. Behind him it looked like several steps had been replaced. Maybe it won’t take so long after all.
Alderman Brian Yates
President
Friends of Hemlock Gorge
That must have been my long lost twin brother.
Of course he’s lost! He’s been waiting since October for the stairs to be repaired so he can walk home.
It’s a mystery. Yesterday, the project was too big to tackle and the stairs were closed until further notice. Today, the job looks 3/4 complete already
Once again when Jerry Reilly speaks….people get to work!
I think maybe one hand didn’t know what the other hand was doing. In any case, it looks like good news … and my twin brother should be home soon.
I think that someone at the MWRA reads Village14. There’s your hue and cry!
I just got a call from the MWRA and they explained what’s going on. The situation was just as described above. The rotted cast iron base was discovered back in October. Repairing it was too big/expensive a job for them to tackle. The whole project was on hold since then.
What they’ve decided to do instead was to build a set of wooden frame stairs in place of the metal frame ones. This will get the stairs open again soon and will be at least a temporary fix that will last for some number of years.
That’s great news Jerry! Well done on keeping their attention on the issue!
This is another example of MWRA flexibility around the bridge. They managed to repair the echol station under the bridge with little fuss. The “temporary” fence on top of the bridge was a worthy substitute for an expensive permanent solution.
As to my confusion about the person I saw yesterday with a clipboard at the bridge, the man I saw
was devilishly handsome and hardworking like Jerry but he didn’t have Jerry’s broad smile so I should have known he was Jerry’s glum and serious twin brother.
Brian Yates
“devilishly handsome” – you definitely had the wrong guy.
Former Newton resident and Science Fiction Grandmaster Isaac
Asimov once explained that he was chosen to mc many science fiction social events because he met several criteria involving knowledge of the field, and the personalities therein but most of all the final criteria that he met was that the master of ceremonies must be “devishly handsome.” I guess the man next to the stairs with the clipboard must have reminded me of Isaac Asimov instead of Jerry Reilly.
Isaac Asimov lived in Newton? I never knew that. (Or if I did, I forgot that I knew that!)
It says on the interweb: He lived in a modest house at 45 Greenough Street in West Newton, Mass
As fans know, Isaac Asimov grew up in New York and published his earliest stories from there. After he got his doctorate, he taught at Boston University Medical School while he lived in Newton. During this time, I believe he wrote some of the stories in his classic “I, Robot” and “Foundation” series.
At some point, his income from his legendary productivity became such that he could live solely on royalties. He moved back to New York where he produced the sequels to these two series that eventually linked them into one grand epic of the future of humanity. I leave it to true Asimov scholars to determine which of his works came from his Newton years.
To add to the Asimov legend:
Mrs Malloy and I had one of our first dates at a New Year’s Eve party in NYC at Issac Asimov’s daughter Robin’s apartment. She (Robin Asimov) grew up in Newton and was part of our extended circle.
Poor Mrs. Malloy: life has been a long science fiction story for her ever since.
And he was the speaker at my high school graduation.
The stairs have been completely rebuilt and are now open for business, thanks to the MWRA.
What’s DONE is DONE! Thanks Jerry