City Of Newton Installs Temporary Cheesecake Bridge Frame

NEWTON, MA — The City of Newton has installed the frame for the temporary footbridge over Cheesecake Brook to replace the one that was damaged in August when a car got caught in flash floods.

The frame was installed ahead of schedule and under budget, according to Mayor Ruthanne Fuller's office. The decking will be installed this week and the structure is on track to be completed for pedestrian and bicycle use by mid-October, if not sooner.

The bridge, located at Albemarle Road near the Gath Pool, is heavily used to access the Albemarle Park and Halloran Sports Complex and for students going to and from the F.A. Day Middle School.

"With a lot of hard work and fast action by many staff here in City Hall, we quickly found a way to replace the condemned bridge with a temporary one," said Mayor Ruthanne Fuller in a statement last month.

"We're also moving forward with a new, accessible permanent bridge," she continued. We'll be working with neighbors and looking for input from the School community, those who use the fields and Gath Pool, and others."

The city will also make additional improvements in the area to ensure the safety of Day Middle School students who normally used the bridge, including redesigning the intersection at North/Albemarle/Craft Streets.

Anyone with questions about upcoming projects can email Dpwprojects@newtonma.gov.