The River Street Bridge in Boston’s Hyde Park carried motor vehicles over the train tracks of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Providence/Stoughton, and Franklin commuter rail lines, in addition to Amtrak trains traversing the Northeast Corridor. (Photo courtesy of MassDOT)

The replacement of a 140-year-old bridge in Boston, Mass., will begin later this year after severe deterioration of the structure led to its abrupt closure last May during a routine inspection by Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) engineers.

The River Street Bridge in Boston's Hyde Park carried motor vehicles over the train tracks of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Providence/Stoughton, and Franklin commuter rail lines, in addition to Amtrak trains traversing the Northeast Corridor.

"MassDOT is closing this bridge out of an abundance of caution after bridge inspectors identified beam deterioration during a routine and fracture critical inspection," the state highway agency noted last year shortly after the discovery. "This closure is necessary to keep traffic off this bridge while material is ordered, and time is allotted for emergency repairs."

Although closed to vehicles, the bridge has remained open to bicyclists and pedestrians.

Built in 1883, the bridge has been repaired many times in the last 100 years, the state agency reported on its website. Since 2016, MassDOT has made repairs to the structure when needed, spending around $2.5 million to keep it safe for traffic.

Work Progressing On Bridge's Design

In August 2022, MassDOT completed the designs for the repairs but based on the extensive repairs needed it was going to take about one year to complete everything. At the same time, the agency was advancing the design to replace the structure. The schedule showed that construction could begin as early as this fall, which led MassDOT to decide that that timeline would allow it to keep the bridge closed and not complete the repairs.

MassDOT recognized the bridge closure has significant impacts on the Hyde Park community. In light of the delays, the department felt it could not ask Hyde Park residents to live with a longer closure than what was announced last fall.

The River Street Bridge is being designed to include:

• One lane of traffic in each direction with sidewalks.
• Carry MBTA bus routes.
• Have a protective barrier for Amtrak electrified wires (first installed in the 1990s)
• Four major utilities will run across it.

MassDOT also said if it left the closure in place, that would allow the agency to:

• Avoid a substantial investment in a structure which must be replaced in any case.
• Accelerate the design of the replacement bridge.
• Begin work on the new bridge in fall 2023.
• Open the new bridge in spring 2025.
• Maintain a near seamless connection for cyclists and pedestrians.

While the bridge closure is in place, early action steps have been under way to speed up construction of the replacement bridge, such as:

• Remove Amtrak's electric wires from the existing structure.
• Relocate utilities to a utility/temporary pedestrian bridge.
• Potentially remove portions of the deck of the existing bridge if it can be done safely.

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