City introduces five-year plan to replace Farwell Street bridge

By AUBREY HAWKE 
Waltham Times Contributing Writer

The Farwell Street bridge, which spans the Charles River, is headed for replacement.

City Engineer Robert Winn, who addressed the Finance Committee at its Feb. 3 meeting, said a recent report showed the bridge is in poor condition. 

City and state officials agree the bridge replacement project should begin now, Winn added. 

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is slated to pay for building the new bridge, while the City of Waltham will fund the designing of the bridge. 

Winn said he expects the design process to take up to two years and construction to take up to three.

Details of the project such as traffic management and specific timing have not yet been decided.

This Farwell Street bridge, built in an Art Deco style, spans the Charles River on the eastern edge of Waltham, with Farwell Street running south from its intersection with River and Pleasant streets just east of the Shaw’s supermarket. The bridge is entirely located in Waltham, though the Newton city line is close by.