BELCHERTOWN – The Friends of Quabbin will hold a ceremony to celebrate the stabilization to the historic Keystone Bridge, which spans the middle branch of the Swift River in New Salem.
Built in 1866 using a construction technique that relies entirely on gravity to hold the stone arch in place, the bridge had begun to deteriorate, requiring emergency repairs to stabilize and preserve the structure.
To mark the completion of the project, state legislators, including state Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Aaron Saunders, Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Nicole LaChapelle, local officials, representatives from the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Division of Water Supply Protection, and members of the Friends of Quabbin will gather for a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 1:30 p.m. at the Keystone Bridge site.
The bridge was constructed by Adolphus Porter to carry traffic across the Swift River on the Orange-Millington Road. Porter was paid $37.50 for his work, the equivalent of approximately $764 today. The bridge remained stable for more than 150 years before deteriorating conditions forced its closure to the public in 2021.
The bridge is located within the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, which encompasses 12 towns in the Quabbin Region. To ensure that this important historic structure was preserved, the Friends of Quabbin launched a fundraising campaign and began searching for a freestone mason experienced in this specialized type of construction, as well as a heavy-equipment contractor.
Michael Weitzner of Brattleboro, Vermont, was contracted to perform the highly specialized masonry work, working alongside Curtis Construction Services of Brookfield.
Over a two-month period, repairs were made to stabilize the bridge using stone and other materials sourced from within the Quabbin watershed. The Department of Conservation and Recreation Division of Water Supply Protection provided extensive in-kind support, including engineering assistance and site monitoring by wildlife biologists.
These environmental safeguards were important as the Swift River flows into the Quabbin Reservoir, which provides drinking water to more than 2.7 million people in metropolitan Boston and surrounding communities.
“Saving this unique, historic structure was a high priority for the Friends,” said Friends of Quabbin President Gene Theroux. “We were fortunate that one of our board members, Paul Godfrey, passionately guided this project, identifying the specialized contractors needed for the work and helping coordinate the project with the contractors and DCR engineers and biologists.”
The public is invited to attend this ceremony, but please be advised that parking will be extremely limited at the site, so carpooling is highly recommended. The primary parking will be located at the DCR field office at 21 Elm St., New Salem, and DCR personnel will provide shuttles to the site.
Learn more about this structure and the project at www.FriendsOfQuabbin.org/keystone.