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Wellfleet project team schedules temporary bridge picks July 14–15; town appoints administrator to Herring River Executive Council
Summary
Project staff said crane operations to remove two temporary bridge sections are scheduled for July 14 and 15 (each likely requiring 4–8 hours of closure) and a larger pier-cap pick is tentatively planned for the week of Aug. 10; the board also appointed Town Administrator Tom Guarino to the Herring River Executive Council for the term of his employment.
Project staff and the town updated the Select Board on construction steps for the Herring River restoration project and temporary-bridge removal, and the board named the town administrator to represent Wellfleet on the Herring River Executive Council.
A project representative told the board the first two crane picks to remove shorter sections of the temporary bridge are scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, and Wednesday, July 15; each pick will require mobilizing a crane and is expected to close the bridge for a period the team estimates at roughly four to eight hours. The representative said a third removal (pier-cap cutting and pile work) is tentatively scheduled for the week of Aug. 10; staff will confirm the exact date.
Because the schedule falls within state-enforced time-of-year windows to protect American eel and herring, the team emphasized constrained work windows (July 1–Sept. 1 and Nov. 15–Mar. 15). The contractor and town staff described an incident-action plan that includes police and paid fire/EMT details, a staged engine and UTV on Griffin Island to provide emergency medical response, signage, door-to-door resident notification, and variable-message boards to alert travelers.
The board also voted to appoint Town Administrator Tom Guarino as a voting member of the Herring River Executive Council. Debate during that agenda item centered on whether the town’s representative should be the administrator (to provide administrative continuity) or an environmental subject-matter expert; the motion to appoint Guarino carried with one recusal (vote recorded as carried). Guarino accepted the role.
Shellfish and harbor stakeholders raised practical concerns about access on the days of removal, noting low tides and early-morning fishing; town staff said police details and direct outreach would begin as early as 6:00 a.m. on closure days.
What’s next: The project team will distribute door notices and update the variable message boards ahead of July 14–15 operations, confirm the Aug. 10 window for pier-cap work, and coordinate emergency-response staffing.
