State transportation officials will hold a public meeting on March 27 to discuss impacts from the Tobin Bridge rehabilitation project, which is set to commence next month. “fblikebutton_button”
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It is important to note that the Tobin Bridge project differs from the Chelsea Viaducts project in both scope and timeline. The Viaduct project will not begin until later in the year.
Beginning in April, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will launch work-related activities and traffic impacts associated with the Tobin Bridge Rehabilitation Project. This follows an outreach effort by MassDOT to alert the public about what to expect.
The Chelsea Senior Center, located at 10 Riley Way, will host the public meeting on Tuesday, March 27.
Operations will require the permanent closure of one lane on the lower deck (Route 1 northbound) starting in April through the end of the 2018 construction season. The upper deck (Route 1 southbound) will experience overnight off-peak lane closures as needed during this period. Starting in late April, the Everett Avenue on-ramp will close entirely for approximately one month. Following that reopening, the Beacon Street off-ramp will be closed for roughly two months. A one-month closure of the Fourth Street off-ramp is anticipated for November 2018. Throughout the project duration, no more than one ramp will be unavailable simultaneously.
The $41.6 million project will rehabilitate a deck section of the Tobin Bridge, which connects Charlestown in Boston to Chelsea. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2020, with lane closures and traffic disruptions expected during each construction season in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The scope includes steel repairs on both decks, concrete work on the lower deck, waterproofing, resurfacing, pavement markings, utility installation, curbing, paving, and construction of a new parking lot beneath the bridge between Williams Street and Third Street.
Built between 1948-1949 and opened to traffic in 1950, the Tobin Memorial Bridge carries Route 1 with three northbound lanes on its lower level and three southbound lanes on the upper level. The 36-foot-wide roadway features safety walks (2’7″ wide) on both sides, each bordered by steel-pipe railings.
The main structure crossing the Mystic River consists of a three-span cantilevered truss measuring 1,525′ in length, with a center span of 800′ and maximum truss height of 115′. It creates a navigable opening 700′ wide by 135′ high. A smaller warren truss spans the Little Mystic, reaching a maximum height of 65′ and extending 439′ in length, with a navigable opening of 340′ wide by 100′ high.