Brown Street/Whipple Road Bridge Set to Re-Open

The Brown Street/Whipple Road Bridge, , will be open for traffic by the end of next week.

Traffic from Wilmington and Tewksbury is impacted by the project, and Tewksbury DPW Superintendent Brian Gilbert said Friday that final work on the bridge will be completed early next week.

"The bridge deck is done and the paving is done," said Gilbert. "The only things they still need to do are paint the lines, install the guard rail and cut back some brush."

News of the opening will come as a surprise to many residents. When work on the project began in April, the state was projecting a completion target date of Oct. 31. 

At that time, the design work was already completed and the remaining work was estimated to carry a $240,000 price tag. The state committed $130,000 to the project with the remaining $110,000 divided between Tewksbury, Wilmington and Billerica.