Bridge rehabilitation project keeps Company -- and the people of Lawrence -- above water

It is fitting, perhaps, that a bridge first built in the 1930s under the Work Project Administration as part of the New Deal - or as some refer to it now, the first stimulus program - should be rehabilitated under the current stimulus program. It is especially fitting because this bridge on Hampshire Street in Lawrence was in desperate need of repairs.

"The old bridge was rotten," says Gary Jackson, of LM Holdings, who is superintendent on the project. "The deck was so brittle, it could be dangerous."

Westford-MA based LM Holdings' bid of $1.8 million secured them the contract on

this project, and, according to Jackson, it couldn't have come at a better point in the company's history.

"These projects help us grow," he says. "Anytime we can work for Mass Highway, it's a good deal."

The projects also mean that more people get to work. Jackson says that at its peak, the bridge project will involve a crew of approximately seven pile drivers, five carpenters, a laborer and five iron workers.

One of those workers, Todd Allen, 23, says that he couldn't find an entry level job after he graduated from college last year. "I really wanted a job," he says. "I was so relieved at getting this job. I'm happy stimulus put me to work"

Allen added that he's also glad the stimulus program is addressing the issue of bridge rehabilitation across the state. Certainly this bridge is a crucial one for the people of Lawrence as it maintains access to Hampshire Street, which spans the length of Lawrence from its downtown to its northern section, over the Spickett River.

"It's definitely a highly populated area," says Brian Blackerby, the project manager. "A lot of pedestrians and cars in the area use the bridge to cross over."

Blackerby explains the significance of this bridge rehabilitation project to LM Holdings and to the people of Lawrence: