Keystone Bridge Stabilization Project Updates
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The Keystone Stabilization Project is being funded through donations to the Friends of the Quabbin. Would you like to help?
Click here to learn how you can be a part of this important project!
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UPDATE: December 2, 2025 –
The stabilization phase of this project is complete! This essential work marks a major step forward in preserving one of the rarest and most significant dry-stone structures in the Quabbin watershed, but much more has yet to be done, and the Friends are continuing their fundraising efforts. The Friends funded the stabilization project, which cost approximately $120,000, and now efforts are turning to replenishing the organization’s funds. Detailed updates on the project and information on how to donate can be found here.
UPDATE: November 10, 2025 –
It’s been three weeks since work started on stabilizing the Keystone Bridge. In the first three days of construction, a platform was built so that the large-tracked excavator could sit close enough to the stream to allow placement of large stones at the edge of the water. This platform will be largely left in place when the work is completed.
After the construction of the excavator platform, work began on a wing wall that, as of Friday November 7, rises approximately ten feet above the water. The wing wall is being built in lieu of restoring the collapsed spandrel wall; once finished, the backfill (which includes the mass of the excavator platform) behind the wing wall will support the roadway and provide sufficient ballast to ensure even loading on the vault.
To build this wall, large stones have been trucked in by DCR from two sites within the Quabbin reservation that are fairly close to the bridge. You probably have passed both sites if you have driven up Route 202 from Belchertown to Orange. One site is a short way south of the Route 122 exit; it is a pile of stones that were left on the east side of the road when it was rebuilt a number of years ago. The other site is visible from the Quabbin overlook turnoff in Pelham. These “re-homed” stones are now the face of the wing wall.
To place the large face stones, a ½” hole is drilled in the top of the stone. An expansion bolt is then inserted into the hole, and a ring is attached to the bolt so that a chain can be used to hook the stone onto the bucket of the excavator. The stone can then be lifted and moved into place. Once the stone has been placed, the ring is removed from the bolt, which is then broken off flush with the surface of the rock. Selecting and setting each stone is a fairly time-consuming process. It takes about a day to install each course (row) of these larger rocks as well as filling in the space behind them: Additional large stones are placed behind the face stones and the remaining spaces around the larger stones filled in with smaller stones.
The top of the wing wall has reached the bottom of the last few remaining original spandrel stones and work has begun on supporting those by filling in the void underneath them with solid stonework. The wing wall and the stabilization of the remnants of the spandrel wall should be completed by November 15th.
If all goes well, the next couple of weeks should see the finishing touches being applied, including restoring the level road surface over the area that had collapsed and covering the work area with loam in preparation for seeding and mulching. Any leftover rocks will be placed elsewhere on the site or removed altogether and the approach roadway will be restored to close to its original condition.
UPDATE: October 27, 2025 – The first full week of work on Keystone Bridge has finished. Prior to that half a week was spent placing the erosion control devices and beginning work on the pad for the equipment to work from. This week has seen the extension of the pad to allow the excavator to reach all the necessary parts of the site and to provide substantial support for the spandrel during this work. This might be called a revetment. It is now complete and next week work will focus on “filling the hole” in the spandrel.
One can see from the face of the revetment that each of those large stones had to be placed manually. The excavator can help get it close but, in the end, they have to be placed by a human. That human was Michael Weitzner and the human helping with the excavator was Marc Curtis. That team has to work closely to create a solid wall, solid enough to support the machine and hold up Keystone Bridge. That same quality work will now focus on the hole in the spandrel. There, even more manual labor will be needed to get just the right stone in the right place and filled in around with proper-sized smaller stones until hardly any gaps remain. That level of detail may be hard to capture in photos for you to see the results of each days efforts, but we will try. If you are concerned about the stark color difference between the old and new stone, don’t worry. Mother Nature will quickly get them to match. And it certainly won’t take 159 years (1866-2025).
If you have any questions, email me at godfrey@umass.edu. I probably won’t know the answer, but I do know exactly who to ask and will get a response quickly back to you.
Members of the project team reviewing the progress. L-R Ed Comeau (FOQ), Alex Surreira and Scott Campbell (DCR), Michael Weitzner (Thistlestone Works)
UPDATE: October 24, 2025 – Last week was spent preparing for the actual restoration work, installing all the required erosion control devices and establishing a work pad for the excavator. There was no work on Monday due to rain. On Tuesday, the team was joined by Michael Weitzner of Thistlestone Works, our free stone masonry expert. Work started on a revetment wall to extend the excavator pad a little further toward the stream and enable the excavator to reach streamside. This entails building a wall or revetment of larger rip-rap with smaller rip-rap filling the gaps near the stream and perpendicular to the damaged spandrel. This has two functions – extension of the work pad, and support for the spandrel to minimize any other rocks from falling out. Behind the wall more rock will fill in to make the pad sufficiently large and provide a place to put rock that will be moved manually into the hole in the spandrel.
Discussing the design of the excavator work pad
This work continued on Wednesday after the team’s weekly meeting to update everyone and to plan the next week’s work. On Thursday, work on the pad area went full bore.
Marc Curtis (in the excavator) and Micheal Weitzner checking the reach of the excavator.
Other efforts included FOQ Treasurer Paul Godfrey being interviewed by a Greenfield Recorder reporter. Other stories have been carried on WWLP-TV, NEPM public radio, the Belchertown Sentinel and New Salem News.
UPDATE: October 23, 2025 – Significant progress has been made on the site. The current focus is on building out a stable platform that the excavator will be able to work from so that it can reach the lower part of the slope. This involves placing a series of different sized rocks which does involve some hand placement to create almost interlocking rocks for a retaining wall and subsequent surface for the excavator to work off of.
UPDATE: October 20, 2025 – Work has begun on the stabilization of Keystone Bridge in New Salem, MA. On Wednesday morning the contractor, DCR staff and Friends members, met to go over last minute coordination details. Work started after that meeting and by the end of the day the erosion control devices were in place and ready for review by the New Salem Conservation Commission. On Friday, trucks began delivering the rock and gravel needed for the repair.
These signs will be placed along Rte 122 to alert people to the construction work. REMINDER! The site is closed to the public during this stabilization work! We are making every attempt to keep people away from the work site. We will have frequent updates on our web site: https://friendsofquabbin and Facebook during the work so that everyone can keep up-to-date without any need to go near the site.
The erosion control devices included mats for the equipment to move across and straw wattles to keep the soil from washing into the stream. These were placed on Wednesday.
Thursday was spent waiting for approval of the erosion control work. On Friday, the first item of business was to remove a few small to edium trees that were directly in the way of the main place for the excavator to work.
Then the rock and gravel began to arrive along with some bigger equipment.
Some of the rock was placed near where the work was to be done to provide for a quick start on Tuesday, 10/21 (rain on Monday is delaying the work.
UPDATE: October 14, 2025 – Work will begin on October 15 to stabilize the historic Keystone Bridge. This project is a partnership between the Friends of the Quabbin, which is providing funding for the project, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, whose engineers will be overseeing the project.
UPDATE August 4, 2025 – Friends of the Quabbin Board Members and DCR engineering staff met with a new contractor to review the site (the previous contractor withdrew from the project before beginning any work). The contractor is going to prepare a quote for stabilization work to the site and, if all goes well, would be able to start work in mid-October. DCR has obtained the necessary permits and would be overseeing the work which would be paid for by contributions to the Friends of the Quabbin.
Become a Partner!
You can help us save the Keystone Bridge!
All donations are greatly appreciated. Large donations will be credited on a sign at the site at a future date, if desired.
Please make check out to Friends of Quabbin, Inc. and send to
Friends of Quabbin
Quabbin Administration Building
485 Ware Road, Belchertown, MA 01007
The Friends of Quabbin is a 501c3 corporation and your donation is tax-deductible, EIN: 22-2695864.