State Reveals Schedule for 93 Bridge Replacement
– Allison Goldsberry
In a public hearing last week the state transportation department revealed a tentative construction schedule to replace fourteen structurally deficient bridges this summer on Route 93 Medford.
The bridges will be replaced on ten weekends in June, July and August except for the 4th of July. The construction of each bridge will take place after Friday afternoon’s rush hour and be completed before the Monday morning commute. The opposite side of Route 93 will be used for traffic, with two lanes each dedicated to north and southbound traffic. Additionally, Route 28 (Fellsway) will be the primary local detour and there will be one local road closure each weekend.
New bridge replacement technology is intended to minimize delays and will include modular bridge technology, enabling much of the work to be performed off-site. Replacement units will be built, shipped to each location, and put into place using heavy lifting equipment, according to the project website. A project that would typically take five years will be completed in one year using this technique.
The fourteen bridges on I-93 in Medford are roughly between the Mystic River and the Middlesex Fells. Repairs to the foundations and piers of the bridges as well as preliminary work has been going on since the winter.
According to MassDOT, the bridges are over fifty years old and a repaving project that had been going on since 2008 revealed “advanced deterioration.” In a dramatic example of this, last August two major potholes opened up on Route 93 over Valley Street in Medford, causing major traffic delays while crews scrambled to repair the road. One pothole was fourteen feet by five feet and the road below Route 93 was visible.
The tentative bridge replacement schedule is as follows (weather permitting). Work to set up the crossover lane will begin on Friday nights at 8:00 PM. The crossover will be in place beginning at 10:00 PM on Friday and end before 5:00 AM on Monday.
June 3-5: Northbound bridge over Riverside Ave.
June 10-12: Two northbound bridges over the Salem Street rotary
June 17-19: Northbound bridge over Route 16
June 24-26: Northbound center span of the bridge over the Mystic River, and northbound bridge over Valley Street
July 8-10: Northbound back span of Mystic River bridge and northbound bridge over Webster Street
July 15-17: Two southbound bridges over the Salem Street rotary
July 22-24: Southbound center span of bridge over Mystic River and southbound bridge over Valley Street
July 29-31: Southbound back span of Mystic River bridge and southbound bridge over Webster Street
August 5-7: Southbound bridge over Riverside Avenue
August 12-14: Southbound bridge over Route 16