The Dorchester Avenue Bridge, which connects Dorchester to South Boston, will shut down for the summer time on Monday as preparation work begins for its alternative subsequent yr.
“We know the closure of the bridge this summer can be a frustration to drivers and others, and we appreciate the patience of the community, particularly the residents of the Polish Triangle, while we work to complete this critical safety project,” stated MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak.
The metal bridge can be closed to automobiles, pedestrians and bicyclists by way of Aug. 31, as building takes place to arrange the 97-year-old construction for its full alternative in the summertime of 2023, in line with the MBTA.
The projected price of the alternative is $34.5 million, in line with the T.
“When the bridge and the Red Line tunnel roof are replaced, Red Line riders will be provided with safer, more reliable service, and resiliency is improved through a reduction in future maintenance needs and impacts to service,” Poftak added.
Built in 1925 and final rehabilitated in 1975, the Dorchester Avenue Bridge is situated between Von Hillern and Kemp Streets, and carries automobiles, pedestrians and bicyclists over tracks for the Red Line, the Commuter Rail Old Colony Lines and the Cabot Yard upkeep tracks.
Work this summer time will embrace the set up of pushed metal pipes into the roadway to help the long run bridge, in addition to establishing a strengthened concrete pier cap and buried abutment seat/pile caps — also referred to as mattress blocks or bridge seats — which can be in place by subsequent summer time when the bridge is demolished and changed, the T stated.
The challenge additionally contains the alternative of the Red Line tunnel roof, which is immediately under a portion of the bridge, the T stated.
“(The bridge) has reached the end of its useful, and also design and service life,” stated Karl Eckstrom, challenge supervisor, at a March 2021 public assembly outlining the alternative. “It’s also becoming more and more of a safety concern for the MBTA and that’s why we have proceeded with this project.”
Eckstrom stated the brand new bridge can have a 40-foot roadway width, matching the footprint of the prevailing one, however it would embrace new options and its lanes can be reconfigured to “provide for safer and more bicycle-friendly features.”
Work will primarily happen in the course of the day, Monday by way of Friday, however will affect Red Line and Commuter Rail service on some weekends.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”