Project Manager John Vitagliano reports that the Chelsea Street drawbridge replacement initiative is advancing without significant complications, nearly two years into the effort. “We are still on schedule and if we continue at this pace the project should be completed by January 2012, a month ahead of the deadline we set back when the project began,” said Vitagliano. The current passage accommodates oil tankers at a maximum width of 93 feet, which represents the channel’s existing constraints. Once the new vertical-lift bridge is operational and the channel widens, these vessels will give way to larger, more capable tanker ships. According to Vitagliano, “The larger tankers will benefit local motorists because they will be able to deliver more fuel per vessel, meaning a reduction in required openings for both the Chelsea Street and McCardle (Meridian Street) Bridges,”
Scheduled maintenance work will take the Chelsea Street Bridge offline Wednesday, October 20th, beginning at 8:00 p.m. and lasting until 5:00 a.m. Thursday. An additional closure window has been set for the final weekend of October—the span from Saturday, October 23rd at 6:00 a.m. through Sunday, October 24th at 6:00 p.m. Meteorological developments may alter these timelines.
The structural steel framework is now visible across Chelsea and East Boston neighborhoods from numerous vantage points, with completed trusses erected on both sides of the waterway. Upon completion, the structure will stand as an impressive 200 ft. edifice commanding views across the Chelsea Creek. “The nighttime closures have been extremely successful with very little impact on local motorists and the communities,” said Vitagliano. By incorporating weekend work sessions, construction supervisors have managed to compress the overall timeline by more than a month. The four-month construction window exists primarily to allow for installation of four massive vertical support towers, each reaching approximately 200 ft. in height and transported via barge from Florida.
The 73-year-old structurally-deficient Chelsea Street Bridge is slated for replacement with a modern state-of-the-art drawbridge. U.S. Congressman Michael Capuano obtained federal appropriations for this initiative several years ago by including it in a federal transportation bond bill. The federal government recently authorized the state to allocate $437.9 million toward transportation projects utilizing federal highway funds, with $153.2 million of that amount directed toward “shovel-ready” projects. Last year, the Patrick Administration put the first eight recovery projects out to bid, dedicating an estimated total of approximately $30 million for infrastructure improvements in every region of the state. The Chelsea Street Bridge was one of these projects. The Chelsea Street Bridge project involves the replacement with a truss-type structure that spans 450 feet and will provide 175 feet of vertical clearance when raised. The new bridge and approach roadway match the footprint of the existing bridge and will provide for four lanes of traffic (two in each direction) and two pedestrian sidewalks. Approach roadways will be reconstructed to meet existing local streets and a complete warning signal and gate system is included in the project. The project will address long-standing issues caused by the narrow passageway used by oil tankers that resulted in accidents. Since 1972, there have been 133 incidents in which ships, tugs or barges have struck the bridge. The new bridge has an environmental as well as a safety component, as the reduced potential for collisions will diminish the threat of oil spills. In June 2000, a tanker collision spilled 50,000 gallons of fuel oil, closing the waterway and delaying aviation fuel deliveries for three days. The warning gate and bridge traffic signal operations will be coordinated with the Central Avenue/Marginal Street/Eastern Avenue intersection in Chelsea to control traffic flow during bridge openings.
