Category: Update
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The Restoration of Echo Bridge: 2007 Documentation
The Rehabilitation of Echo Bridge in the Hemlock Gorge Reservation has been a long term concern of the Friends. A major restoration of the stone work was completed in 1992, and the Echo Platform was repaired and restored in 2004, but restoration of the Railings remains to be done. An early cost estimate was provided…
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Echo Bridge Legislative News: 2006
April 29, 2006 Friends’ President Brian Yates has announced that $250,000 for restoration of the railings along the Promenade have been included in the House budget. Support for the appropriation appears strong in the Senate. We will keep you advised. June 15, 2006 $250,000 for the “Echo Bridge Safety Project” was included in the House…
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The Rustic Footbridge is rebuilt
The rustic bridge by Artists’ Point, connecting the Newton and Needham shores, has been rebuilt. The photos show the concrete footings for the new bridge next to the deteriorated timbers of the old bridge, the bridge under construction, and the finished bridge as it was left in 2006.
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Echo Bridge Promenade is open
The Friends are pleased to report that the Echo Bridge Promenade has re-opened. The safety “snow barriers” are made of wood slats and actually not unsightly. Congratulations to the MWRA, Friends, journalists, officials, and all concerned citizens who help achieve this. We now look forward to working on the permanent solution to the railing problem.
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Echo Bridge Promenade to Re-Open During the Railing Repair Process
In response to the efforts of the Friends and local officials, the protests of many local residents, and the publicity generated by front page stories in the last two issues of The Newton Tab, the MWRA informed us on Friday, March 17, 2006 that, instead of closing Echo Bridge to pedestrians indefinitely, temporary “snow barriers”…
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Echo Bridge Promenade Closed Pending Temporary Barrier Installation
We have been assured that The Echo Bridge Promenade will remain open during the railing repair process. However, the Promenade was closed on March 17 pending installation of temporary safety barriers. The picture to the right shows how the closure was effected on the Newton side by locked gate. There is a similar barrier on…
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Echo Bridge Promenade Closing March 17, 2006
We were informed at the beginning of March, 2006 by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) that Echo Bridge will be closed temporarily to pedestrians beginning March 17, 2006, fast upon the Ides of March. Et tu, MWRA? It is to remain closed for an indeterminate length of time. The reason is safety—the deterioration of…
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Echo Bridge to Close to Pedestrians March 15, 2006: MWRA
What follows is the text of a memorandum sent to the Hemlock Gorge Reservation Site Supervisor by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) that Echo Bridge will be closed temporarily to pedestrians. MWRA Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 6, 2006 CONTACTS:Ria Convery, 617-788-1105 [email protected] ECHO BRIDGE CLOSED TO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC Handrails a danger to…
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Stone Building Floor Installed
As announced previously, The Friends of Hemlock Gorge succeeded in our application for a Public-Private Partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The Friends earmarked $2500 for a new floor and other repairs to the Stone Building, and that amount was matched by the DCR. On February 23, we were notified by the…
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Report on the Adelgids and Ladybugs in Hemlock Gorge
Final Report Pseudoscymnus tsugae Release Hemlock Gorge 2001-2005 Background: The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) (formerly the Department of Environmental Management) was approached by the Friends of Hemlock Gorge regarding the possible release of the predatory ladybird beetle (Pseudoscymnus tsugae) for the control of an infestation of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae) at…
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State of Infestation
On November 8, 2005 state forester Charlie Burnham contacted the Friends and made the following report on the adelgid infestation: “I was at the Gorge last week and will write up a summary of what I was and have it to you sometime next week. Overall things look good but I have noticed the start…
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Quinobequin Road News: 2005
Some 12 years age the Friends suggested to the MDC, now the DCR, that something to control off road traffic on the section of Quinobequin road just downriver from Hemlock Gorge would be desirable to prevent vehicles from degrading the riverbank. We initially suggested a wood railing, but later, after hearing from neighbors, we thought…
