Kerry
& Tsongas Announce $10 Million for
Merrimack River Bridge Repairs in
Haverhill
12-13-11
HAVERHILL, MA – December 13,
2011- Senator John Kerry and
Congresswoman Niki Tsongas announced
today that the Department of
Transportation is awarding a $10 million
TIGER (Transportation Improvements
Generation Economic Recovery) grant for
repairs to the Merrimack River Bridge in
Haverhill. The bridge is used by Commuter
Rail, Amtrak, and freight trains daily
but is in need of improvements. While the
structure has been declared safe by MBTA
officials, trains must cross on a single
track at reduced speeds, which causes
significant delays on the century old
structure.
“We’ve
been working at this a long time. This is
absolutely needed to sustain more
high-speed passenger and freight trains,
less congestion, easier commutes, and
jobs. I’m sure Secretary LaHood is
tired of hearing from me on this one, but
he’s always listened and he’s
really come through for Massachusetts. I’m
deeply grateful,” said Sen.
Kerry.
“We
have been working with the MBTA for
months to both ensure that this bridge
remains safe and to identify
opportunities to make improvements. Just
last month, I visited the bridge with the
Mayor and MBTA representatives to help
draw attention to the need for this
funding. This award represents a
significant down payment for the
rehabilitation of the Haverhill Railroad
Bridge and also signals a commitment on
the part of the Department of
Transportation to return the bridge to
proper working condition,” said Congresswoman
Niki Tsongas. “We will continue
to work with our federal, state, and
local partners to see the necessarily
repairs through so that commute times are
improved, delays are eliminated and the
safety of the bridge is maintained.”
“Haverhill
deeply appreciates being one of three
communities to be the recipient of the
TIGER Grant for $10 million. I am
thankful to Senator Kerry and
Congresswoman Tsongas for their support
and commitment to our City. It is a great
start, it will play an important role in
our continued economic development,”
Mayor Fiorentini said.
The
TIGER grant program was created under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to
fund multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional
projects that are challenging to fund by
other means. The Haverhill Bridge grant
being announced today is part of the
third phase of the program. In phases one
and two only 93 projects in the nation
received grants. In Massachusetts, only
the Fitchburg Rail improvements project
and a streetscape project in Revere
received phase one or phase two TIGER
grants.
