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Construction crews are in the final phase of work in the Chelsea Street bridge replacement project. The bridge was closed to traffic in June 2011 to allow crews to demolish the existing bridge and install the remaining portions of the new bridge.
The $125.3 million project will improve the efficiency and operation of the bridge for vehicle traffic while significantly enhancing safe navigation of the Chelsea River channel by maritime vessels.
Recent work includes removing the existing piers and protective fender system and installing the new bridge joints and safety barrier. MassDOT expanded the work to construct new bulkheads on the sides of the channel to prepare the area for the Army Corp of Engineers to widen the channel.
The work taking place requires coordination with the use of the channel by the vessels that supply a significant portion of heating oil, gasoline and jet fuel throughout New England.
The current work must be completed while the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic. To minimize impacts, MassDOT and project stakeholders extended the closure of the bridge so that the work could occur on a continuous basis. Crews are working double shifts, seven days a week.
The new bridge is expected to be ready to reopen to vehicular traffic in late April.
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It would be great to have an email notification list so I can know when the bridge re-opens. It’s been a long wait!
Will there be a any weight restrictions ? ——————————————————– The new bridge is designed for a full HS20-44 live load- there will be no weight restrictions on the bridge.
The employees of Logan Airport are being told the bridge will not open until May 15th. Is this true? Also, it is being said only to autos, no buses or trucks for a couple months. Is this also true? ————————————————————————- There will be no weight restrictions on the bridge once it opens. Work is tracking for opening by the end of April.
I would also like to be put on an email list so that I can know when the bridge re-opens. Thx. ———————————————————————– The opening announcement will be distributed to all news media and community representatives, posted on this blog and MassDOT web, along with Twitter at www.twitter.com/massdot.
It is now April 20th and still no word on the opening of the bridge? Is late April really early May! The bridge is up it works the street is paved! What else are they possibly going to do? —————————————————————————- Thanks for the comment. Final work steps includes bridge wire rope, Sheave, and cable work. When an exact date for opening to traffic is finalized, it will be posted, published, and distributed.
The Chelsea Record on 4/20/12 says June for an opening. Will the contractor be fined for lateness? ————————————————————————– The opening to vehicle traffic will be announced soon. An exact date is yet to be finalized. The work schedule has always included some final work activities into late spring 2012 that will be done with the bridge already operating to both navigation and car traffic.
In the Chelsea Record it said the bridge will be operational by June! So when exactly will the brdige be open? I thought it was April it is now April 23rd and no word on a date. Just let us know a date instead of playing games with us! The traffic is awful and my commute is terrible. ————————————————————————— The opening to vehicle traffic will be announced soon when an exact date is determined. The work schedule has always included some final work activities into late spring 2012 that will be done with the bridge already operating to both navigation and car traffic.
I find it hard to beleive that there is no projected date on the opening in the Contract. If there is an issue please let everyone know. I too read the article in the Chelsea paper that said June. The MASS DOT has been saying end of April all along. It is the end of April and we still cannot get a date. This whole project is already months behind what was told to the public. I think it is time for people to write to their State Representatives and perhaps the press and get to the bottom of this project. Something is not right. —————————————————————————- Thanks. June is the approximate end of all related work, separate from the date when vehicular traffic is allowed to resume. That date will be announced soon.
Well Tuesday is May 1st and still no word on when the bridge is opening? Do they have a date yet?
Any word on when the bridge is opening? Tomorrow is April 30th! We will be in May and the bridge is still closed. I feel like they are just playing games and should have just told us it was going to closed for a year. That would have the right thing to do. This is just crazy and it is making people crazy. ————————————————————————– Thanks for your comments. Here is the open announcement: The new bridge carrying Chelsea Street over the Chelsea Creek at the Boston/Chelsea line is scheduled to reopen to traffic on Saturday, May 12. Construction crews are completing the last of the major work items necessary to allow the opening of the new bridge. On March 15th, MassDOT projected the bridge would be ready for reopening in late April. As final work continued, crews encountered unforeseen conditions associated with the complex underwater operations. In addition, the schedule for the related channel dredging work being completed by the Army Corp of Engineers was delayed by the need to remove an abandoned sewer line beneath the bottom of the channel. Final work items will continue after the bridge is opened to traffic on May 12, requiring overnight closures during May and early June that will not affect weekday commuter traffic. Additional work will be completed during the day after the morning commute with at least one lane of traffic open in each direction. The historic $125.3 million project will improve the efficiency and operation of the bridge for vehicle traffic and for critical maritime vessels to safely navigate the channel. MassDOT appreciates the continued patience that those affected by the closure of the bridge and the construction activities have shown throughout the duration of the project.
Is this statement true? the main reason for the extra 6 months delay is that after they tried to get the span across and get it connected to the vertical columns, they were 18 INCHES SHORT. somewhere, something was not engineered properly. As a result, they had to re-engineer ‘on the fly’ to try and figure out a way that they could ‘make it work’ despite being short 18 inches somewhere. —————————————————————————- Here is the opening announcement and description. The new bridge carrying Chelsea Street over the Chelsea Creek at the Boston/Chelsea line is scheduled to reopen to traffic on Saturday, May 12. Construction crews are completing the last of the major work items necessary to allow the opening of the new bridge. On March 15th, MassDOT projected the bridge would be ready for reopening in late April. As final work continued, crews encountered unforeseen conditions associated with the complex underwater operations. In addition, the schedule for the related channel dredging work being completed by the Army Corp of Engineers was delayed by the need to remove an abandoned sewer line beneath the bottom of the channel. Final work items will continue after the bridge is opened to traffic on May 12, requiring overnight closures during May and early June that will not affect weekday commuter traffic. Additional work will be completed during the day after the morning commute with at least one lane of traffic open in each direction. The historic $125.3 million project will improve the efficiency and operation of the bridge for vehicle traffic and for critical maritime vessels to safely navigate the channel. MassDOT appreciates the continued patience that those affected by the closure of the bridge and the construction activities have shown throughout the duration of the project.
Well, here it is April 30, and still no announced bridge opening! What’s next?? Further delay into May? Good job of keeping faith with the public. —————————————————————————- Thanks. Here is the opening announcement. The new bridge carrying Chelsea Street over the Chelsea Creek at the Boston/Chelsea line is scheduled to reopen to traffic on Saturday, May 12. Construction crews are completing the last of the major work items necessary to allow the opening of the new bridge. On March 15th, MassDOT projected the bridge would be ready for reopening in late April. As final work continued, crews encountered unforeseen conditions associated with the complex underwater operations. In addition, the schedule for the related channel dredging work being completed by the Army Corp of Engineers was delayed by the need to remove an abandoned sewer line beneath the bottom of the channel. Final work items will continue after the bridge is opened to traffic on May 12, requiring overnight closures during May and early June that will not affect weekday commuter traffic. Additional work will be completed during the day after the morning commute with at least one lane of traffic open in each direction. The historic $125.3 million project will improve the efficiency and operation of the bridge for vehicle traffic and for critical maritime vessels to safely navigate the channel. MassDOT appreciates the continued patience that those affected by the closure of the bridge and the construction activities have shown throughout the duration of the project.