More Problems on the Longfellow Bridge
When reports started to surface that the Big Dig was riddled with leaks, my grandmother refused to visit my cousin as long as he lived in Revere.
“You need scuba gear to go through that thing,” she declared. “I won’t do it.”
I’m beginning to think I might take her advice and pack a snorkel and a parachute for my trips over the Longfellow Bridge. Not only is it possibly not up to the task of handling spectators this July 4, but the MBTA is now hastily repairing faulty rail ties on the Red Line tracks on the bridge, according to the Cambridge Chronicle.
Holy crap.
MBTA officials say the Red Line’s railroad ties that extend over the Longfellow Bridge are in such bad shape, they need to be replaced immediately.
Last Thursday, trains were ordered to slow down over the bridge after crews found the ties “exhibited signs of deterioration,” said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
So we should assume the crash position as our Red Line train slowly creeps over the Charles, just to be safe, right?
Pesaturo stressed the tracks are in good condition and the slowdown of the trains has been taken as a precautionary measure.
Yeah. Just like the lane restrictions, the reinforcing of the bridge’s beams, and the stress tests on the sidewalks. There are so many “precautions” happening on that span that we don’t know how officials come out and say everything’s hunky-dory with a straight face anymore.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
In the 1980s’, the span over Long Island Sound(East River) called the Williamsburgh Bridge, between Williamsburgh, Brooklyn and The Lower East Side of Manhattan, had similar problems. On it ran the J, M & Z line Elevated and Subways(What In Boston could be called the Brown Lines by MBTA). For 3 months, this was put out of commission, re-routing other MTA-NYCT Services on the A, C & JFK Lines(Blue Line):
The Longfellow Bridge could be such a Project of that proportion. It’s going to take awhile & not a few patch jobs;
It was Marathon Sunday, the day before the Race. I had disembarqued at Back Bay to head to Copley Square to catch the B, C, or D Green Line to Kenmore, when, surprise, surprise, Copley was closed and had to head north to Arlington, where B, C & D Trolleys were packed to go to Fenway Park. Not exactly fun! Why would they close Copley Station?
June 4th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
It would be nice to compare this to the Williamsburg bridge project, but it’s probably more like that bridge’s neighbor - the Manhattan Bridge. The B, D, N, and Q trains recently returned to that bridge after about a 10 year project. Fortunately, NYC has tunnels that could reroute traffic. Good luck, Boston.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Could it be the big dig part 2?
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