Two-Week Basiliere Bridge Repair Project Begins Dec. 16

A view of Haverhill's Basiliere Bridge as seen from the Merrimack River. (WHAV News photograph by Jay Saulnier)

Travel across the Basiliere Bridge is limited starting Dec. 16 to facilitate a joint repair project. (Jay Saulnier photograph for WHAV News)

A two-week project, largely carried out overnight, aims to replace the deteriorated middle portion of Haverhill’s Basiliere Bridge, Mayor James J. Fiorentini’s office said Thursday. Work begins Sunday, Dec. 16, with joint replacement slated to take place primarily between 8 p.m.-4:30 a.m. to minimize disruption for the 35,000 vehicles that travel the bridge daily.

Courtesy photograph

One side of the bridge will be closed at a time to facilitate construction, with two lanes available to carry traffic in both directions across the Merrimack River.

Upcoming work follows temporary repairs made in the wake of an urgent request from Fiorentini in October. An assessment of the bridge’s underside continues as the joint repair work nears. According to Fiorentini, the joint work—carried out by Salisbury contractor SPS New England—is minor and a total overhaul of the span is still necessary.

Built in 1925, the bridge—named for Haverhill’s first Vietnam War casualty Ralph T. Basiliere—has been considered “structurally deficient” since at least 2009.