Progress Reporting

THE VIEW AHEAD

This section of the progress reporting page will be updated through completion of the project to provide users with an approximate look ahead with regards to construction and changes to the way in which drivers experience moving through the project area.   Events such as extreme weather or emergencies may have an impact on the schedule.

• During the current phase of work, approximately four months, the motorist experience in the work zone will remain similar to what it is today.  The right hand half of the northbound lanes has been closed off by a temporary concrete barrier in order to perform demolition and reconstruction work on the bridges.  The northbound exit to Woburn Street is closed with traffic detoured via Route 38.  

• Work is now underway on all three northbound bridges in the bundle.  Currently, much of this work focuses either on demolition of the existing structures or laying the groundwork for the building of the new bridges such as driving support piles for new abutments.   These efforts do require some night work as was explained during the project team's briefing for public officials and briefing for residents of the Woburn Street neighborhood.  Major ongoing night work includes:
• Pile driving at the Woburn Street Bridge.
• All demolition activities at the bridge over the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Lowell Line.
  

• Temporary road striping in the work zone was repainted on January 5, 2009.  Winter weather conditions such as plowing and salting required for safe driving had caused the paint used for the temporary striping to fade.  The striping can only be repainted when conditions are dry and above freezing for long enough for the paint to set up. The project team is aware of this issue and will monitor the condition of road striping within the work zone and attempt to refresh it as needed, weather permitting.
  

Location	To Enlarge Image, click on picture
Woburn Street Bridge: The superstructure of the right half of the northbound bridge has been removed and both piers have been demolished.  The old bridge's abutments are also partially demolished.  Next steps include driving piles to support the new abutments and relocating overhead power lines that cross I-495 at this location to underground duct banks.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Railroad Bridge: The road deck and its supporting girders have been removed from the north and center spans of the right-hand side of the northbound bridge. Demolition of the south span is underway and should be complete by roughly January 15.  Next steps include demolition of the old span's piers and abutments and driving piles to support new abutments.
Concord River Bridge: The superstructure of the right-hand side of the northbound bridge has been demolished. Demolition of the old span's abutments and installation of temporary earth support sheeting are underway.  Next steps include the demolition of the center pier and installation of piles to support new abutments. Warning buoys have been positioned up and downstream of the bridge to warn boaters of the approaching work zone.  The project team anticipates that these will get more use once the weather warms up.
Northbound Lane Shift: Traffic was successfully fully shifted to the northbound contra-flow lane in November, 2009.   This major project milestone facilitated implementation of the first detour and allows ongoing work on all three northbound bridges.