North Shore Commuter Rail Bridge Replacement Set For September

LYNN, MA — A bridge that carries commuter rail trains to and from the North Shore and Boston will be replaced later this month.

The MBTA said on Thursday that the Commercial Street Bridge that carries the commuter rail line over Commercial Street in Lynn between River Works Station and Lynn Station will be completely replaced between Sept. 16 and Sept. 20.

Buses will replace regular service between Beverly and North Station on Sept. 10 and 11, and then again from Sept. 17 to 27. Additional track and signal work will be done at this time.

"Part of the T's modernization and safety work to replace six bridges on various Commuter Rail lines, the upcoming work taking place on the Commercial Street Bridge will result in a brand new bridge that provides safer, more reliable service to Newburyport/Rockport Line riders," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said. "We know the traffic impacts and service diversion resulting from the bridge replacement can be a frustration to drivers, riders, and others, and we appreciate the patience of the community while we work to complete this critical project."

Part of this work will coincide with the ongoing and unprecedented 30-day shutdown of the Orange Line — which is set to conclude on Sept. 19.

Commercial Street in Lynn will be closed nightly from Sept. 16 to Sept. 24 for bridge replacement and follow-up work.

The Lynn bridge, which was builtin 1913, is nearing the end of its useful life and will be replaced to
meet the MBTA's reliability and modernization needs. The MBTA said the new bridge will have a projected service life of 75 years, will reduce future maintenance costs and service impacts, and will provide riders with safer, more resilient, more reliable ride on the Newburyport/Rockport Line. The project is anticipated to be complete this fall.

(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.)