Popular spot to watch the Head of Charles will be obstructed

October 21, 2011|By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent, Globe Staff

Fencing along the Weeks Memorial Footbridge will obstruct views of the rowing races this Saturday and Sunday during the Head of the Charles. Photo by Brock Parker.

By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent

A popular vantage point for the Head of the Charles will offer only obstructed views of the rowing races this weekend, as construction has begun on the Weeks Memorial Footbridge over the river.

The historic footbridge between Cambridge and Boston will be open to pedestrians this weekend, but fencing on both sides of the structure will narrow the passageway, said Michael Versekes, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The $1 million rehabilitation project is one of several Charles River crossings being rehabilitated or restored as part of the state’s $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program.

The footbridge, near the Anderson Memorial Bridge, was built in 1926, and its limestone balustrade handrails are being repaired as part of the work. A portion of the navigational lights above the arches on the upstream and downstream sides of the bridge are also being replaced, according to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The work is expected to be completed by mid to late January of 2012, but construction has been suspended this weekend to accommodate for the Head of the Charles, according to the state.

The repairs are the first steps of a multi-phase renovation and restoration of the Weeks Footbridge that DCR expects to unveil to the public through a public process and to commence in the Spring of 2012.

- brock.globe@gmail.com