The Mattapoisett Rail Trail just received another embellishment on September 10. A new bronze plaque on the bridge over the Mattapoisett River recognizes Old Colony Regional Vo Tech High School, The Community Preservation Committee, the Town of Mattapoisett, the Friends of the Mattapoisett Rail Trail, and The Bike Path Committee for the extraordinary collaboration that expanded a 6’ wide utilitarian pedestrian bridge into the 14’ wide bridge we use on the bike path today.
The bridge at Mattapoisett River was completed in 2015. Labor was provided by seniors in the Old Colony Carpentry Program under the direction of Stu Norton, Carpentry Program Director. Pictured here with the installed plaque is Trent Arancio, grandson of Stu Norton. Materials and other costs were paid for by a grant from Community Preservation Committee and from the Friends of the Bike Path.
The bridge was built in stages: First laminated beams were prefabricated and shipped to Old Colony Carpentry Shop where railings were fitted and bolted in place. The beams (with railings) were trucked to Fairhaven then barged to the bridge site and installed on the existing train bridge abutments by crane. After everything was secured in place, the Old Colony students removed the old bridge planking and railings and installed the new, wider planking.
The community and region is grateful. The Friends gratefully acknowledge that every aspect of the popular path we enjoy today has been a product of dedicated staff and elected officials in Town Hall, especially Selectboard members who supported the project and the Town Administrators. Mike Bohtehlo, Mike Gagne, and Mike Lorenco, who each managed different kinds of complexity for State construction and funding. We also acknowledge recent new plantings by the Tree Committee and the Highway Department.
