Old and New
Jarring Contrast

Ipswich is a very old North American town; puritans settled it in 1633. Anne Bradstreet wrote much of her poetry here, and the book "The Simple Cobbler of Agawam" was written here. But times have changed dramatically and it's not easy to find continuity between then and now. The sharp contrast makes Ipswich a little uneasy.

Recently this gulf was graphically illustrated by repairs to our Choate Bridge. When the Choate Bridge was built in 1764 it was a technological marvel. But when flood repairs were required in 2006 the project and its equipment dwarfed our bridge. In the photo of the bridge and the repair equipment together, the giant sandbag, the barges, the teal trench box, the ladder, the night floodlights, and the crane make the historic Choate Bridge look quite small.

Choate Bridge

Repair Crane

Crane Lifting Giant Sandbag Out Of Riverbed

If they happen at all, such damage and repairs should only happen once; they certainly shouldn't happen twice. So an important issue has become how to prevent further damaging floods in downtown Ipswich.