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Residents and officials clash over possible removal of Berlin Street Bridge to reduce flood risk
Summary
City leaders presented modeling suggesting the Berlin Street Bridge could be an obstacle to river flow; residents raised petitions and warned that removing the bridge would disrupt emergency response and daily traffic. Officials said traffic and emergency-access studies would be needed before changes.
The forum’s most contested topic was the Berlin Street Bridge. City officials and river engineers have identified the bridge site as a point where river flow can create local backups; Mayor Lozano summarized that modeling showed removing certain obstacles could reduce flood depths in the North End. "If a little bit of inconvenience to a neighborhood results in 18 inches of reduced floodwaters in the North End, I think that's kind of a fair trade," Mayor Lozano said.
Residents responded forcefully that bridge removal poses public-safety and traffic risks. John LePage, a Willie Street resident, said removing the Berlin Street Bridge would increase congestion and hamper first responders: "Removing it is gonna make congestion...It's a really bad idea to remove that bridge," he said, noting the bridge is often used by police, fire and ambulance crews. Other commenters described narrow alternate streets, blind curves and heavy truck traffic that could create new hazards if traffic were rerouted.
Officials acknowledged the trade-offs and said additional studies would be required. City Manager Nicholas Chimellatastro said the council would need traffic and emergency-access studies and noted that the Berlin Street option was not among the three top-priority funded projects this year; replacement or removal would be a multimillion-dollar undertaking and is not currently funded.
The forum produced a large petition opposing removal (a resident reported "over 500 names") and several requests that the city consult fire and police departments before moving forward. Officials said any decision would be informed by hydrology and engineering data and by traffic and emergency-services analyses and that no immediate plan or budget for bridge removal exists.
