Readers target decrepit state of region's bridges
The rocky state of local bridges has some commuters asking questions.
"The bridge over Route 9 on Washington Street in Wellesley has been narrowed in half for roughly two to three years, apparently for repairs, but there has been no construction actually taking place for at least a year. Any information on whether this project will ever get going again?" John Campbell of Newton asked in an e-mail.
Erik Abell, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation, replied that during last construction season, the Massachusetts Highway Department learned that the contractor did not have the resources to complete the work, so the contract was terminated and a new contractor was hired. The new contractor, SPS New England, is taking inventory of material left behind and conducting pre construction work. "We expect a construction presence to return to the site within the next couple of weeks and continue through the rest of the construction season," said Abell.
Steve from Chelmsford has the disrepair of a couple of other bridges on his mind. "There are two awful bridges on I-495 southbound, just after Exit 37 in Lowell," he wrote. "One is over railroad tracks; the other over the Concord River. Neither has any asphalt, just a mess of concrete patches that almost send cars airborne, especially in the right lane.
"This past Friday a horse trailer came loose from its tow vehicle and made a mess of the afternoon commute. I'm sure this was caused by the condition of these bridges. Can you check with your contacts at MassHighway and see what their excuse is for not paving them?"
Once again, Abell is on the case. He said traffic congestion and a lack of available space to safely divert traffic on that section of I-495 limits MassHighway's ability to complete more than spot repairs.
"It's important to note that these bridges will ultimately require more significant repair," he said. "Looking longer-term, there is a project in development to rehabilitate a handful of bridges on I-495, including these two. However, there are a number of other bridge-repair projects in the region that are higher priorities at this point, meaning this project is a few years away."
A guessing game at Back Bay Station
Jane Mihalich of Shrewsbury wants to get her afternoon commute on the right track. "For years, the 5:03 p.m. (outbound) Worcester express train would arrive at Back Bay Station on Track 5, everyone would wait at that track, and all was good in the world."
"December of last year, the train began arriving intermittently on Track 7, which wouldn't be that big of a deal, except all the announcements and electronic train signs say Track 5. So at the last minute when the train's pulling into Back Bay, you have this mad dash of people from either Track 5 or Track 7, depending on which side you were betting on. In recent months, the train arrives on Track 7 about 75 percent of the time, but the announcements for the track number are wrong at least 50 percent of the time, or they're first announced as one track and then changed to the other.
"Shouldn't they know which track the train is coming in on? Seems like important information that needs to be accurate. I know this sounds like a trivial issue but this is a very busy train, and in order to get a seat it makes a difference whether you're in the front or the back of the line -- so if you get there early and stake a claim on Track 7 only to have the mad dash at the last minute to Track 5, you're at the end of the line."
Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for Mass. Bay Commuter Railroad, said the issue is more complex than one might think. "At Back Bay, there are dispatchers from three different companies (CSX, Amtrak, MBCR) that determine train movement into and out of this particular station. CSX's dispatcher, which is based in upstate New York, is the final decision maker."
He said Amtrak's dispatcher works in conjunction with the CSX dispatcher to decide which track a train will operate on. MBCR personnel at Back Bay must monitor the track assignment, then announce to the passengers whether it will be track 5 or 7. Regarding the flip-flopping from 5 to 7, this happens because the CSX dispatcher chooses to route the train to track 7 because of a freight train moving on track 5, only to have the Amtrak dispatcher request the use of track 5 because of a conflict of equipment in Boston. This "flexible option" allows CSX and Amtrak to interchange track 5 or track 7 on any given day.
"MBCR remains in discussions with Amtrak and CSX to determine if they can find a solution for this issue," Farmelant said.
Starts & Stops appears every other Sunday in Globe Northwest. Transportation comments and questions may be sent to starts@globe.com. 
