Drawbridge Trouble Disrupts Beverly, Salem Commuter Rail Service

SALEM, MA — Almost right on cue after a contentious public meeting in Beverly Tuesday night to discuss an extended timeline to repair and replace the deficient Hall-Whitaker and Kernwood bridges, a "drawbridge issue" forced disruption in commuter rail service between Beverly and Salem on Wednesday.

The MBTA said late in the morning that passenger service was "terminated" on the 152 train from Newburyport to North Station, and the 109 train from North Station to Rockport, because of the drawbridge issue. In the case of the outbound train, riders were forced off at Salem and service was then provided from Beverly to Rockport on a different train.

The 197 North Station train to Newburyport and Rockport at 2:05 p.m. was canceled altogether.

Delays of up to an hour throughout the corridor continued throughout the afternoon.

"Due to a drawbridge issue along the Newburyport/Rockport Line, regularly scheduled shuttle bus service between Lynn and Swampscott will experience delays of approximately 20 minutes," the MBTA said at about 4 p.m.

The MBTA said the drawbridge issue was "resolved" at about 6 p.m. though residual delays continued into the night.

This comes at a time when Beverly residents are already fuming over a 13-year timeline unveiled on Tuesday to replace the months-closed Hall-Whitaker Bridge and to repair and replace the deficient Kernwood Bridge that is currently acting as the Hall-Whitaker detour.

(Also on Patch: Beverly's Hall-Whitaker Bridge 'Temporary' Fix To Take Up To 4 Years)

According to state Department of Transportation officials at the meeting, the extensive permitting process will delay the construction of even a temporary Hall-Whitaker Bridge until 2024 with completion in 2026. A full replacement of that bridge may not be done until 2035.

The Kernwood Bridge, which was described as being in "poor" condition and was already due for a replacement, will be repaired and replaced by 2031 under Tuesday's schedule.

"We are as shocked as you are with the timeline that was proposed," State Rep. Jerry Parisella said at the meeting.

It also comes during the very busy Halloween season in Salem where city officials have urged visitors to take the commuter rail — encouraging the short ride from the Beverly station if the Salem station is full — rather than drive to downtown Salem.

As of late Wednesday, parking spots remained at the Salem commuter rail station on Bridge Street even though the downtown garages were full.

The MBTA encouraged those looking to take the train between the North Shore cities instead hop on bus 451 while a shuttle bus was also operating between stops.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)