The Elliot Street/Central Ave Bridge connecting Newton and Needham will be reopen to vehicular traffic beginning this Sunday morning Dec. 11. The south sidewalk will also be opened. The north sidewalk will take longer to complete.
However, next week, Monday through Friday (Dec.12-16) the contractor will be working on completing the sidewalk installation work. In order to do this, they will need to close the sidewalk and close one lane of traffic, so his equipment can fit on the bridge.
So, next week only (Dec. 12-16) the bridge will be open to two lanes of traffic until 9:30 a.m. and then workers will close one lane and maintain one lane of traffic (staggered in each direction with assistance from police details) until 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday Dec. 17 at 11 a.m. there will be a celebration marking this re-connection of Newton and Needham.
When this project was first announced this past summer, it was said that the bridge would be rehabilitated and reopened by early December. Bridge projects seem to always take many years to complete. `Congrats to Newton Public Works for completing the project on time!
I took the 59 bus across the bridge from the Newton Highlands Green Line stop to Needham tonight. It looks like there’s still work to be done (lanes are narrow and jersey barriers are up on both sides), but I’m glad that we’ve finally got the bridge back.
In a tangentially-related story, I’d like to offer a big shout out to the Needham Police, specifically Officer Rob Peck.
As the 59 bus was passing through Needham Heights, a middle-aged passenger whose English wasn’t perfect had become panicked that she had missed her stop. She asked to go to Webster St., which we’d already long passed, and eventually the bus driver and I determined that she was specifically trying to get to the Wingate assisted living facility. Although the bus would pass within about a half-mile of Wingate on its return trip from Needham Junction, the bus driver wasn’t familiar with Wingate’s exact location and my efforts to explain it to the woman weren’t successful.
When I got off at the Needham Public Library, I approached a nearby Needham police cruiser – I began to tell Officer Peck the story, and before I’d even finished, he’d already volunteered to follow the bus on its return trip and ensure that the woman would be able to safely find her way to Wingate. Above and beyond the call of duty, Officer Peck!
Great story Michael, thanks for sharing.
Michael, thanks for sharing. It’s acts like these that are keeping me sane right now.
Just hold on Marti. We’ll get through it somehow.
Bob, I’m certain I’ll get through it but I’m not so sure about my minority friends and family, the environment or our country’s progressive values. I’m doing all I can now as an aging, (mostly) armchair activist. I’m learning about intersectionality, approaching problems coming from privilege and a bunch of other things. And doing a lot of writing – kinda my thing.
You and I have lived through decades of unrest. Hopefully this time it won’t be as bad as it appears.
It should be noted as the year ends that an Upper Falls institution is also ending. The Three-in-One Superette on Elliot Street is closing as John, the owner of the store not the building, retires in the wake of a change in building ownership and a conversion to a new use. John has been serving the people of Upper Falls and the passersby on Elliot Street since 1972 and the store for decades beyond that.
It would be nice if customers both current and former could stop by on December 30 and 31 to thank John for his cheerful services to the community and wish him well in his retirement.
Brian Yates