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NEWBURY — A proposal to install a gate at the Larkin Road bridge was shot down by a slim seven votes at a Special Town Meeting.

Larkin Road resident Justin Londergan filed a citizen petition asking the town to seek written authorization from neighboring Georgetown to install a gate to keep two-way traffic from traveling Larkin Road.

The Special Town Meeting was held at Newbury Elementary School to deal with the citizen petition. In a tight vote, 102 people voted “yes” and 109 “no” Thursday evening.

Residents on Larkin Road asked to have a safety gate installed to keep two-way traffic from returning to their street, which once connected to Parish Road in Georgetown by way of the Larkin Road bridge.

The Larkin Road bridge spans Wheeler Brook and was damaged in the Mother’s Day storm of 2006.

Vehicular access to the bridge was blocked when an adjacent culvert failed in September 2014, leaving Larkin Road residents living on what had become a quiet, dead-end street.

But culvert repairs are underway, funded by the developer of a 10-unit open space residential development at 66 Parish Road in Georgetown. Newbury expects to complete the utilities, repave roads and install guardrails in the area soon.

Although the residential development is based in Georgetown, Larkin Road is the only access to the site from Newbury. More than 200 residents signed the online petition asking that the bridge remain closed to traffic.

At a Town Meeting in April, residents approved $20,000 to purchase the safety gate. But since Larkin Road will remain open as a public way, the request to install the gate will not move to Georgetown after the Special Town Meeting on Thursday night.

Select Board Chair Alicia Greco said in a written statement Friday that Larkin Road will reopen once the culvert replacement is completed.

“The town will work to ensure the road reopens in an orderly and safe manner,” she said.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.

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