Conservation Commission rejects arsenic preservative for Sherman's Bridge

WAYLAND — May 27, 2026 — Wayland Conservation Commission bars arsenic preservative on Sherman's Bridge rehab. The commission voted 7-0 Tuesday to direct TEC and the Wayland DPW not to use chromated copper arsenate on the glulam deck panels replacing the failing timber bridge over the Sudbury River, leaving copper naphthenate and DCOI as the remaining options. Engineer Mike Riccardi said MassDOT is funding the materials and construction for both Wayland and Sudbury. Peter Engel told the commission the project adds about 555 cubic feet of fill in bordering land subject to flooding — less than 0.4 percent of town flood storage — with "no rise" in the 100-year elevation. Commissioner Clifford Lewis, calling CCA "nasty," moved the ban. The commission also unanimously denied a certificate of compliance at 26 Rice Road, finding the as-built house, driveway and stormwater system departed sharply from the 2018 order of conditions and destroyed a vernal pool migration corridor.