Lagoon Pond drawbridge committee mulls over the final details

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Lagoon Pond drawbridge elevation drawing showing the bridge tenders office. — Photo courtesy of Lagoon Pond Drawbridge Committee

It was apparent at a meeting of the Lagoon Pond Drawbridge Committee yesterday that the devil is in the details. Committee members discussed the paint color of bridge railings, lighting, the finish of the facades and signage.

The committee, appointed by the Oak Bluffs and Tisbury selectman, is charged with the job of being the conduit for local community input to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which will build the bridge.

Chairman Melinda Loberg of Tisbury said the project’s plans are “considered to be at 100-percent completion, although we are still looking at some of the details.”

The latest plans include a chimney on the bridge tender’s office that serves as an exhaust for a generator that would provide the power required to lift the bridge in the event of a power outage. Committee members debated whether it might block the view and whether it might be better moved to the side.

Landscaping, bike racks, benches and tables for a proposed park on the Tisbury-Lagoon side of the bridge, where a private house now stands were also discussed. The committee recommended that the state design team consult an Island landscaper for advice on landscaping with native plants.

The committee forwarded a list of questions and areas of concern to the designers. The committee expects to meet next on April 1.

Ms. Loberg said that after an extensive review by the state the plans will be finalized by September at which time they will go out for bid. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2013. There is a completion goal of fall 2016. After the meeting, committee member Mark London, Martha’s Vineyard Commission executive director, offered a bet in jest on when the project, which began in 2003, would be finished. He had no takers.