North Shore Commuter Rail Winter Weekend Disruptions

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — North Shore residents taking the Commuter Rail in and out of North Station will have to deal with additional disruptions on a series of weekends this spring.

The MBTA said the Newburyport and Rockport lines will be diverted with the shuttle bus service from Swampscott to North Station to accommodate bridge work in Somerville and Boston early in 2025.

The work is scheduled for the weekends of Jan. 18-19, Feb. 1-2, Feb. 15-16 and March 8-9.

The bridge work is set for the Maffa Way and Mystic Avenue bridges.

Both the Maffa Way and Mystic Avenue Bridges are close to being structurally deficient, are beyond their useful life span, and require repair, according to MassDOT. There are currently no accommodations for bicycles across both bridges and sidewalks and other pedestrian accommodations are inadequate.

To improve the safety and reliability of the bridges, as well as the user experience of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, substantial improvements are being undertaken.

During June 2025, the MBTA has tentatively scheduled a nine-day shutdown of the Orange Line. The MBTA is in the process of determining any limits. Shuttle buses will be provided to riders.

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