Cars are crossing the Upper Artichoke Reservoir again on the Middle Street bridge, the first time since 2018. None of the old bridge went into the new one. The granite that carried traffic between West Newbury and Newburyport since the 19th century was taken apart and divided between the two communities. West Newbury's share now forms a seating wall beside the two new pickleball courts at Action Cove Playground.
So the drive across the reservoir is new. To see the old bridge, you have to go to Action Cove.
Six Weeks of Traffic on a Brand-New Span
The bridge reopened quietly. According to The Town Common, the first vehicles crossed after a final inspection on September 22. That ended an eight-year closure that began when a spandrel wall failed in 2018. The ceremony came later. Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon's October 5 update set the ribbon cutting for Friday, October 9.
On publish day, the crossing has carried traffic for about six weeks. It links Middle Street on the West Newbury side to Plummer Spring Road on the Newburyport side. In West Newbury many people call it the Plummer Spring Road bridge, and it sits right on the town line. During the closure, the Newburyport Daily News reported that Newburyport traffic was sent down Turkey Hill.
The water under the bridge matters too. The Upper Artichoke Reservoir supplies drinking water to both communities, which is one reason this small span gets more attention than its traffic count would suggest.
Why Nothing Old Went Back In
City of Newburyport project records describe a "partial collapse" in 2018. They also say that because of how it collapsed and what it was built from, none of the existing structure could be reused in the replacement. The old bridge was a granite arch built in the late 1800s. The new one uses a completely different method. Here is how the two compare, based on the city's reconstruction page:
| The old Middle Street bridge | The new Middle Street bridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Built | Late 19th century | Structure installed in 2026 |
| Structure | Granite arch with four masonry stone wingwalls | Prestressed concrete box beams under a cast-in-place concrete deck, on H-pile abutments |
| Span | About 14 feet clear | 45 feet |
| Width | About 24 feet | 32.5 feet, out-to-out |
| Pedestrians | Not described | Sidewalk built into the south side in the design |
The design also calls for standard bridge rails, precast guardrail transitions, and a wider, straighter road. The new bridge is more than three times as long as the old opening. That longer span is what lets a modern concrete deck replace a short stone arch.
Two communities paid for it together. The project cost about $3.66 million and was funded mostly through the MassDOT Small Bridge Program, the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, and American Rescue Plan Act money. West Newbury won a $1 million MassWorks grant, and the city says the two communities split the total cost evenly. West Newbury also used $25,000 of its ARPA money in January 2024 to cover the work needed to secure those grants.
Where West Newbury's Share of the Granite Went
The granite couldn't go back into the bridge, so West Newbury and Newburyport divided it for future projects. One of West Newbury's first uses was a seating wall at the new pickleball courts at Action Cove Playground. The Select Board's January 15, 2026 minutes record that the wall was under construction then.
The Town Common's August report says the two courts cost $175,000. Then-Town Manager Angus Jennings rated the stone even higher.
The granite repurposed as a wall outside the new courts "is probably more valuable than the courts themselves."
A granite stone with a plaque greets players at the courts. Marcia Schoeder created it to remind visitors where the stones came from. Pickleball courts have been opening all over the North Shore, as the Town Common article notes. These are the only ones with a wall made from a 19th-century bridge.
The town planned the courts in some detail. Select Board minutes from April 9, 2026 say the Parks & Recreation Commission chose the court colors and that an "Action Cove Day" was tentatively planned for late June. The plan at that point was to take reservations through MyRec in slots of 30 to 90 minutes, open only to residents at first. Since that was the plan in April, check the town's MyRec page for current booking rules before you head over.
A Cost-Sharing Habit That Dates to 1891
At the October ceremony, Mayor Reardon reached back to an earlier replacement. As reported in the Newburyport Daily News, he said the original structure needed replacing in 1891. The Newburyport City Council then "voted to contribute up to $1,000 towards the new bridge, with West Newbury sharing the cost." The deal for the new bridge follows the same pattern. Both municipalities are legally responsible for maintaining and repairing the structure, and both split the bill again this time.
The Daily News says the most recent agreement came together in June 2025. Town and city officials, including Jennings, Reardon, and then-City Council President Ed Cameron, met with state Sen. Bruce Tarr and a MassDOT representative to work out an intermunicipal agreement. According to that account, the effort to fund the rebuild ran six years.
The ribbon cutting landed on a fitting Friday. Reardon noted that Newburyport High School was playing Pentucket in football that night, and Tarr kept the football references going in his remarks. State Rep. Adrianne Ramos remembered someone asking why the bridge was needed at all after so many years closed. She answered with what she saw at the ceremony: "I think we've seen three or four cars already in the short period of time we've been here."
West Newbury's town manager, Sean Fitzgerald, gave the credit to his predecessor. In remarks quoted by The Town Common, he said he "was fortunate to inherit a fully funded and substantially completed project thanks to the leadership and dedication of former Town Manager Angus Jennings." Jennings saw the bridge through funding and construction. He is also the official who said the leftover granite might be worth more than the courts it now surrounds.
Seeing Both Bridges in One Outing
The two bridges sit in separate places, and you can see both on one trip. Cross the reservoir where Middle Street becomes Plummer Spring Road. The city's design puts the sidewalk on the south side of the new deck. Then head to Action Cove Playground and find Marcia Schoeder's plaque stone at the courts. The wall behind it is the granite that stood over the Upper Artichoke for more than a century.
Newburyport kept part of the stone as well. Both communities received reclaimed granite for future projects, so more pieces of the old Middle Street bridge may appear around the area in the coming years.
If the reopened crossing has you rethinking your drive between West Newbury and downtown Newburyport, I'm always glad to talk about how projects like this one shape daily life on both sides of the reservoir. Reach out to Alissa Christie anytime. Let's Connect.
