Bridge gets new life as blockade
Wily reps hoping to stymie LNG plant
By ROB MARGETTA, Standard-Times staff writer
southcoasttoday.com
Not too long ago, Reps. James P. McGovern and Barney Frank couldn't stand the Brightman Street Bridge.
But now that the rusty, 99-year-old drawbridge has become a stumbling block for Hess LNG's plans to put a liquefied natural gas terminal at Weaver's Cove in Fall River, the Bay State Democrats have changed their tune.
"Mr. McGovern and I have fallen in love with that bridge," Rep. Frank said. "A year ago, we could have wanted to get rid of it."
Late last month, the area's congressional delegation sneaked a provision into the $286.4 billion federal transportation bill that prohibits using federal money to tear down the Taunton River bridge connecting Fall River to Somerset.
Hess LNG, which has sought to build the terminal over the objections of local and state officials concerned with the explosive potential of LNG, has said it can't fit its tankers through the Brightman Street Bridge.
Thus, the delegates figured that cutting off most of the money that would have paid for the demolition was yet another wrench they could throw into the LNG machine's cogs.
MassHighway had planned to complete a $182 million project to replace the bridge with a larger one about 1,000 yards upstream, by 2010. Razing the old bridge would cost an estimated $5.2 million, 80 percent of which would have come through federal money.
The Brightman Street Bridge requires $300,000 in state money every year just to keep functioning, and, according to the congressional delegates themselves, can't support the traffic load it bears.
Rep. Frank had campaigned 23 years for the bridge's destruction and replacement. Now, he says, it can stand "into perpetuity."
As long as the bridge can still open to allow boats to pass, it can remain "just something to look at," as far as Rep. Frank is concerned.
Rep. McGovern wants to turn the bridge into a walking and bike path across the river. The provision to the transportation bill calls for it to be maintained for pedestrians and cyclists and provides $500,000 for improvements.
While the Brightman Street span shouldn't handle heavy traffic, it could handle walkers and bikes, said Michael Mershon, Rep. McGovern's press secretary. Letting the bridge stand could have economic benefits for Fall River and Somerset, he said.
But the congressional delegates aren't pretending that the main thrust of the provision was to create a bridge for pedestrians; it was meant as an obstacle to the LNG terminal.
Mr. Mershon said the delegation "quietly" added the provision to the thousands already attached to the transportation bill during recent committee negotiations.
"We certainly didn't put in any press releases," he said.
The bill passed the House and the Senate, and is now waiting for President Bush's signature.
Considering how long the country has been without a new highway bill and the extensive negotiations that go into such a piece of legislation, there's almost no chance that President Bush would refuse to sign it because of the Brightman Street Bridge provision, Mr. Mershon said.
The provision is meant to be part of what Rep. McGovern has called the "death of 1,000 cuts" to which he wants to condemn the LNG plan.
"No one is saying this is all done," Mr. Mershon said. "This is just one of many actions we'll take. At some point, Hess is going to realize that this is a bad idea."
Rep. Frank said he wants to send a message to LNG proponents: "Any chance we get to do this sort of thing, we will."
James A. Grasso, a spokesman for Weaver's Cove Energy, which Hess LNG controls, said his company is disappointed that the provision was inserted "through the back door."
Reading from a company statement, he said "We are aware of the pending legislation, and it appears inconsistent with the original justification for the new Brightman Street Bridge. It certainly appears to be at odds with the permits issued ... which require the demolition of the bridge."
Hess LNG is exploring "all options, legal, political and otherwise," to counter the bill, Mr. Grasso said.
John Carlisle, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation, said state officials haven't fully reviewed the bridge provision. He said his department doesn't know if the state will give up on tearing down the bridge now that the price tag for doing so has risen considerably.
Mr. Mershon said he hopes the bridge never comes down. After all, he said, "We've come to love it."
Contact Rob Margetta at rmargetta@s-t.com
This story appeared on Page A1 of The Standard-Times on August 3, 2005. |
