MBTA Completes $100M Gloucester Drawbridge Replacement Project
Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
The MBTA has completed the new Gloucester Drawbridge that will carry the Rockport Commuter Rail Line over the Annisquam River.
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced Dec. 14 that construction has wrapped up on the agency’s new Gloucester Drawbridge that will carry the Rockport Commuter Rail Line over the Annisquam River.
The $100 million bridge replacement project launched in 2018 and replaces a bridge that was originally built in 1911. During this work, the agency also installed Automatic Train Control (ATC) along the Newburyport/Rockport line.
“We’re pleased to have completed these safety enhancements on the line as well as the critical work to replace the Gloucester Drawbridge, bringing improved service to our Newburyport/Rockport line riders,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. “I’d like to especially thank our riders for their patience as work crews accomplished these infrastructure upgrades, which will improve safety and reliability on the line for decades to come.”
The bridge replacement project took place over a five-year period after a contract award took place in November of 2017. The Drawbridge now includes side-by-side single-track moveable bridges, a relocated control tower on the Gloucester Station-side of the bridge, and an updated east-approach trestle with pre-stressed box beams on top of steel pipe piles. Boat access within the waterways beneath the bridge have also been improved, according to a news release.
Regular train service between the Beverly and Rockport Stations resumed on Dec. 19 and a new winter schedule will be implemented along the Newburyport/Rockport line, MBTA said in a release.
Additional recent coverage of the MBTA by RT&S is available to view here.
