The rebuilding of the Belden G. Bly Bridge, which connects Lynn to Saugus and has been under construction for the past three years, is on track for a completion date of March 2026.

The bridge, formerly known as the Fox Hill Drawbridge, was the oldest cantilever bridge in the country before its demolition. In 2013, it was closed to traffic and became overseen by the state Department of Transportation instead of the Department of Public Works, which had previously overseen it.

In a joint board meeting in 2020, MassDOT stated that the construction process required demolishing the bridge, adding a temporary one with two lanes of traffic, installing a new Massachusetts Water Resource Authority water line, and adding turning lanes to Route 107 and the Ballard Street intersection. The temporary bridge would eventually also have to be removed.

Marshall Hook, a communications officer from MassDOT, confirmed via email that the project is on track for the scheduled completion date of March 2026.

When asked about setbacks that have held up the project, Hook said that there have been “several” and described the project as “very complex.”

Notably, gears for the bridge had to be shipped up from Alabama. Due to permitting issues, they took two months to arrive.

The Coast Guard has granted “a very limited” time period to complete the work, allowing a window of just Feb. 1 through May 1 to construct the new bridge across the navigational channel, Hook said. 

The contractor, SPS New England, also has to work around tide cycles, due to the Saugus River’s large tidal range.

“Due to these challenges, the contractor has requested a two-week extension of the channel closure to May 15, 2024 in order to complete the bascule span,”  Hook said. “The extended closure would be less restrictive, and vessels could travel under the new bridge but would be subject to the vertical clearance restriction.”

Hook said that currently, SPS New England is constructing the movable span of the new bridge, which includes mechanical and electrical components, as well as a new overhead counterweight.

Traffic will be shifted to the new bridge this winter, and two lanes of traffic in each direction will open in summer 2025.

The permanent bridge is designed to allow reliable crossing, restore four lanes of traffic, and add bicycle lanes. The total estimated cost for the bridge replacement in 2021 was $99.3 million.