‘Decades in the making’: Officials break ground on long-awaited Rourke Bridge replacement

‘Decades in the making’: Officials break ground on long-awaited Rourke Bridge replacement

LOWELL — More than 40 years after the “temporary” Rourke Bridge was built across the Merrimack River, officials finally broke ground Wednesday on a project to replace the bridge with a modern, permanent structure. From the Vandenberg Esplanade, right next to the northern end of the Rourke Bridge, the hum of Pawtucket Boulevard traffic was interspersed with the rhythmic thumping of metal plates as vehicles drove over them going on and off the bri…