Beloved wooden bridge in Massachusetts needs to be replaced. The choice between charm and concrete is expensive.

The Powder Point Bridge is considered by some to be the identity of Duxbury, Massachusetts. It's 2,000 feet long and made entirely of wood. It connects the barrier beach to the mainland.

"People in Duxbury have had this ritual. Multigenerational. Taking the slow travel across the rickety bridge to get to the beautiful beach," said resident Tag Carpenter.

Cars crawl across the tired timber. The speed limit is 10 miles per hour because it's as worn as it is whimsical. Alicia Babcock loves it.

"The modern concrete world doesn't exist here," she told WBZ-TV. And that's how she wants to keep it, like it was in 1892, when a bridge was first built here.

However, time and the tides are tough on a seaside bridge. Many of the 500 wooden pilings are rotting. Babcock and the group "Save Powder Point Bridge" believe it can be salvaged. They hired an engineer who said it could be rebuilt for about $20 million. Babcock thinks anything other than a wood bridge would be a loss for the community.

"It loses history. It loses charm. It will change the landscape of the bay forever. It will never be the same," Babcock said.

$20 million or $172 million?

But change is coming. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) said the wood structure "does not meet current bridge requirements" and "it is the agency's responsibility to ensure its safety."

So, the state is designing a bridge of concrete and steel - at a cost of $172 million.

Carpenter thinks the bridge is worth saving.

"Ninety percent of the wood is still functional and viable. It's really just a few feet that we have around the water line," he said. Carpenter used to be with the town's historical society. He said the bridge is historically significant.

But that is up for debate.

Not a historic site

The bridge as it is now is not from 1892. There was a fire there in 1985. The whole thing was replaced in 1986. So, the state has ruled it is not a historic site.

Why is that important?

Well, if it were on the National Register of Historic Places, the state would have to try to re-create it, exactly as it is right now.

Instead, the state's design uses steel and concrete. MassDOT said it would last 100 years and it would try to replicate the charm with wood-covered sidewalks and railings, but taxpayers would pay for it.

If Duxbury decides to renovate, the town would pay for it.

Denise Lynch is one of many residents who don't want a hike in property taxes to rehab a bridge that right now costs $300,000 a year to maintain.

"Taxes have gone up a lot in Duxbury and anybody if you ask them will say, 'Wow, I don't want to add to that,'" Lynch told WBZ.

Meanwhile, the group fighting to save the bridge hopes to convince MassDOT to still pick up the tab, but for the cheaper bridge with more charm.

"We are just hoping that we can find a way to spend less and get what we want," Babcock said.

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