Cars Cross Boston Neck Bridge Again

A crowd of people gathered Friday morning as cars once again were permitted to cross Suffield's Boston Neck Bridge, which has been completely closed to traffic since a piece of the bridge fell off, rendering it structurally unsafe, in April 2012.

Once the ribbon was cut by John Biggerstaff, a vintage car had the honor of being first to cross the renovated bridge.

Repairs to the Boston Neck Bridge were originally estimate to cost $927,000, but the final bill was about $150,000 less. The Board of Selectman had considered the option of having the iconic one-lane structure replaced with a wider bridge through Connecticut's "Small Bridge Program," but in part because of the estimated length of time that would take (approximately 5 years), voted to instead repair the existing structure.

The Boston Neck Bridge, which remains one lane but does not have any vehicle weight limitations, also includes a separate but adjacent pedestrian bridge.