Topsfield bridge replacement appears in draft state plan with $5.87 million projected cost

A Massachusetts draft capital investment plan lists a future $5.87 million replacement for bridge T-06-013 on Perkins Row over Mile Brook in Topsfield.

The project appears in the Commonwealth’s FY2026–2030 Draft Capital Investment Plan, released March 1, 2026. The document shows no allocation for the bridge in FY2026 and lists the full $5.87 million amount in the FY2027–30 period.

That funding schedule places the project in a future planning window. It does not establish a construction start date, confirm a final design or indicate that a contract has been awarded.

What the plan says

The bridge replacement is categorized as highway bridge work under the state’s reliability program. The entry identifies the location as Topsfield, Perkins Row over Mile Brook, and assigns bridge number T-06-013.

For people who use Perkins Row, a future bridge project could affect the local road crossing, traffic routing and the reliability of the crossing. The current document does not include a detour plan or announce a road closure. It also does not say that construction will begin in 2027.

The $5.87 million figure is a project amount shown in a draft state capital plan, not a reported final construction cost or completed expenditure. Future funding decisions can change before work moves forward.

What happens next

The available state document does not provide a project-specific deadline, construction schedule or final approval date. The plan’s FY2027–30 listing is the next known funding window, but the document does not assign the money to a specific year within that period.

Topsfield’s Select Board schedule provides two relevant 2026 dates for the town’s regular municipal calendar: a meeting on Aug. 3 and a work session on Aug. 17. The town says Select Board agendas and minutes are provided through its official BoardDocs repository. The approved records reviewed for this report did not identify a town-specific August 2026 vote on the bridge.

For now, the state plan is best understood as a draft proposal for a future infrastructure investment. It identifies the bridge, the projected cost and the broad funding period, while leaving the start date, design, traffic management and final award unresolved.