After 18 months and several delays, Peterborough’s Main Street Bridge opened to two lanes of traffic in mid-December.
The project faced COVID-19 delays to early construction and a Christmas Day flood last year, followed by further challenges this year, including a piledriver that tipped over the side of the retaining wall alongside Route 202 in late April that was not righted until mid-May and an unseasonably wet summer that impeded some of the work.
“This project has had pretty much everything,” said Aaron Lachance, engineering project manager for Hoyle Tanner, in September.
The concrete base for the bridge was poured on Nov. 16, an endeavor that took almost 15 hours and drew spectators from across town. The concrete was then subject to stress tests to gauge the strength of the materials before the bridge could be opened to traffic.
Director of Public Works Seth MacLean said that the opening of the bridge an important milestone, the project is far from complete.
“We won’t be planning an official ribbon-cutting until we can definitely pinpoint the official end of the project,” he said when the bridge opened to traffic.
The sides of the bridge are still cordoned off by concrete barriers, and a planned turning lane for the bridge is not open yet. Work will continue along Route 202, including work on the retaining wall, work on storm drainage, completion of sidewalk construction and eventual site cleanup.
The timeline for the end of the project is not official, but estimates from MacLean are currently aiming for June or July.