Dedham Residents Concerned About Raising Height Of East St Bridge

DEDHAM, MA - Seventy-two residents attended a virtual meeting on Thursday held by the MBTA for the East Street Bridge reconstruction project, where many residents expressed concerns about raising the bridge height to 14 feet.

Brad Nicoll, MBTA deputy chief of bridge and structures, led a presentation about proposed changes to the bridge, located on the Franklin commuter rail line between the Dedham Corporate Center and Endicott stops.

“The goal is to improve safety on the bridge and below the bridge,” he explained of the $18 million reconstruction project.

To accommodate the height change, East Street will be lowered by a foot and 9 inches, which will cause some utility relocation and property regrading.

The bridge was built in 1904. The two traffic lanes below it are only 11 ½ feet wide with no shoulders, making them under the current standard. The project will increase these lanes to 12 feet and add 2-foot shoulders as well as sidewalks. To accomplish this, the current abutments will be pushed back.

“I think this will help to connect the neighborhoods on both sides and provide better access to our station,” he said.

To prevent truck collisions with the bridge and to improve traffic flow, the height will be raised to 14 feet from its current posted height of 12 feet and 1 inch, although the MBTA measured it to be 12 feet 3 inches. Another goal is to widen the road underneath the bridge because there are no sidewalks or shoulders. A bottleneck currently occurs because the street is narrow, and sometimes trucks realize they cannot make the clearance until they are there.

He noted that Keolis, the operating contractor, responded to eight major collisions between July 2019 and November 2020.

“Our goal is to bring the bridge to a state of good repair,” he said, noting that it was designed to be used for 75 years and “does not meet MBTA and federal standards.”

The project currently is in the design phase, which should be completed in the spring. Construction procurement would begin in the summer, with construction beginning in early 2023 and finishing in late 2024. It will be funded possibly through a combination of future federal and state funding.

Sen. Mike Rush attended the meeting and thanked the MBTA and “look[ed] forward to the continued dialogue working together.”

Abutters expressed a number of concerns about the project. Brian Keeney said he is usually the one who calls in when a truck hits the bridge, or he is subjected to trucks idling in front of his house when they realize they can’t make the clearance.

“I am begging you, begging you, begging you not to raise this bridge,” he implored. “You’re going to turn East Street into Route One.”

Truck traffic, which is already loud, will be increased, Keeney said, a concern voiced by his neighbors. Several referenced the bridge rebuild at Islington in Westwood, which they did not believe was raised to 14 feet. Nicoll said it is above 13 ½ feet although the town posted a sign to that effect.

Nicoll said “the MBTA wants to be a good neighbor.” He said that traffic calming devices such as speed bumps could be implemented. The town could also implement its own measures such as signs saying there is a “low clearance.”

Dennis Teehan, speaking as himself and not in his capacity as a Select Board member, said the work needs to be done, but the community’s concerns need to be addressed.

“The MBTA says they want to be a good neighbor, and I believe them,” Teehan said. “But I think being a good neighbor begins with respect. And what the MBTA needs to understand is that raising this bridge will impact the quality of life in the neighborhood."

He added that there hasn’t been aware of a traffic study being conducted or a report on the impact to the neighborhood. He urged that there be a “middle ground.”

Teehan also said he had suggested earlier that the bridge have a crumple zone, but that was not addressed.

“It’s going to have a significant change in the way people are going to live in this area,” Cheryl Highers said of the project. “I feel for those parents who are going to have to think twice about letting their kids go on their bikes and just go out and have fun.”

Planning Board member Jessica Porter asked if bike lanes could be added. They are not currently planned, as it would affect the structure depth, according to Nicoll.

Ann Mercer lives on East Street a couple of blocks from the bridge. She raised the issue of traffic and speeds increasing with the street lowering and bridge height increasing.

“The rotary is really what dictates how quickly traffic moves in this area,” she said. “It is going to be a pipeline for all of the larger trucks.

“I am a little irked, shall I say, throughout this whole meeting,” she said. “It is almost like what is the point of having a community discussion when you don’t seem to be willing to consider the community’s opinion. It seems as though your mind is made up.”

“We do care about your comments, and we’re here tonight,” Nicoll responded. “Outside of the project’s limits, it’s really the town’s jurisdiction. And we’d be more than willing to work with the town to come up with a solution that could calm traffic through here and that could dissuade truck traffic.”

Select Board Chair Dimitria Sullivan said the town will be holding a meeting to discuss the residents’ suggestions.

“We obviously know something is going forward,” she said. “The question is exactly what will go forward and what kind of input the town will have.”

Comments can be sent to EastStBridge@mbta.com. This meeting can be viewed on Dedham TV at this link.