Two meetings about major work coming up on the Mystic/Tobin Bridge will be held at Chelsea City Hall by the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8.
The first meeting on Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. will cover the upcoming project to make deck repairs to a section of the Tobin Bridge, in an effort to hear public input and to provide community members with information on the project.
This $41.6 million project involves repairing a section of the deck of the Tobin Bridge, which carries Route 1 traffic between the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston and Chelsea. The project will occur on a section of the bridge known as the “approach spans” in Chelsea, and will consist of resurfacing parts of Route 1 southbound (the upper deck) and the Everett Avenue ramp, and making structural repairs and resurfacing parts of Route 1 northbound (the lower deck) and the Beacon Street off ramp.
Construction operations are scheduled to begin by spring 2018 and work is currently expected to be completed by the end of 2020. During the spring, summer, and fall construction seasons of this project, one lane of Route 1 north will be closed at all times in this area to allow for construction operations. During this project, there will also be overnight lane closures on Route 1 south to allow for milling and paving work as needed.
The second meeting will be on Nov. 8 in City Hall at 6:30 p.m. as well and will discuss replacement of the viaduct on the “Chelsea curves.”
The Chelsea Viaduct is a structure which runs between the Tobin Bridge to where Route 1 crosses above County Road and the Viaduct carries traffic through the area known as the “Chelsea Curves.”
The Chelsea Viaduct is structurally deficient and in need of repair and rehabilitation in order to ensure the reliability of this important connection.
Working with the City of Chelsea, residents living near the Viaduct, roadway users, and other stakeholders, the project team is currently designing a plan for construction that minimizes and mitigates temporary construction impacts. MassDOT’s current schedule includes reaching the 25 percent design milestone before the end of this year, continuing design and related work throughout the winter, and then advertising the project to potential construction bidders in the spring of 2018.
When completed, the Viaduct Rehabilitation project will provide repairs to the structure’s supports and a new travel surface for vehicles traveling on it. Work on the viaduct will be coordinated with construction activities occurring as part of the separate Tobin Bridge Deck Rehabilitation Project.