Newton’s Programs and Services Committee approved the purchase of a plot of land for a new bridge over the Charles River to connect Newton Upper Falls and the town of Needham on Wednesday.
“This is a win-win for both communities, and we think for the state as well,” said Jonathan Yeo, chief operating officer for the City of Newton.
The original Christina Street bridge was built in 1959 for train passage over the river. It was removed from rail service in 2010, and ice and water have worn away several of the piers that hold it up.
“A lot of those supports are broken off in the middle,” said Jenn Martin, director of transportation planning in Newton.
In 2021, engineers for the city determined a walking and biking bridge would be better to connect trails between Newton and Needham, as well as to drive foot traffic to new developments in the area, including the projected Northland housing project in Newton.
The Programs and Services Committee voted to buy a $430,000 parcel of land from the neighboring Price Center, a service agency for people with special needs, that will allow public access to the bridge.
“This is going to be open space for—it’s really just for—safe passage of pedestrians and bicyclists across this area,” Yeo said.
Yeo said this purchase was necessary because, without it, pedestrians would have to pass through the parking lot of the Price Center in order to get to the bridge.
“We needed to first acquire this land to make this even possible,” Yeo said. “Both from a construction standpoint, but then from an operational standpoint, we couldn’t be having people go through the Price [Center] parking lot.”
A state grant will cover the land purchase in addition to the design of the bridge, according to Martin. The $1.5 million grant is an earmark through the American Rescue Plan Act, the 2021 federal COVID economic stimulus bill.
But the demolition of the existing bridge, combined with the construction of a new one, will cost an estimated $4.8 million according to Martin.
According to Yeo, the remaining cost of the project will be funded through a mix of sources, including the city budget, private companies that would benefit from foot traffic near the Northland development, and other potential state grants like through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
“We certainly hope this will be similar to … things that the city has taken and pushed forward, and then the state has constructed and completed the project,” Yeo said.
Since the city is buying the land in order to create open space, it will need a third party to review a conservation restriction, a legal agreement to make sure that public land is permanently used for conservation purposes, according to Ward 7 Councilor Lisle Baker.
According to Baker, Newton Conservators, an environmental nonprofit in the city, is usually the body to enforce such conservation restrictions.
“If you’re going to do this, just make sure you’ve got not only the right restriction, but someone who can enforce it,” Baker said.
Yeo agreed that the conservation restriction is necessary, but said it would be better to approve the land acquisition first, since the grant used to pay for the land will expire by the end of the year.
“We need to spend this money now,” Yeo said.
The motion to buy the land passed in a 6–0 vote.
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