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Merrimack River Navigation Project

Merrimack River

The Merrimack River is formed by the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee Rivers at Franklin, New Hampshire. It flows southerly through the New Hampshire cities of Concord, Manchester, and Nashua, then northeasterly through the Massachusetts cities of Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill before it enters the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport. Recreational boat facilities are located in Haverhill along the river’s upper end and principally in Amesbury and Newburyport along the river’s lower end.

The project, completed in 1907, consists of:

  • A channel seven feet deep and 150 feet wide extending from the U.S. Route 1 Bridge at Newburyport to the railroad bridge at Haverhill, a distance of 16.5 miles. The channel passes through the communities of Salisbury, Amesbury, West Newbury, Merrimac, and Groveland.
  • The removal of a sandbar at the mouth of the Merrimack River in Newburyport.
  • The removal of rock at Merrimac.
  • The removal of obstructions in the river at Haverhill.