Portsmouth's Memorial Bridge closing soon for repairs

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has finalized plans for the closure of Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth in April. The bridge that carries Route 1 from Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine, will be closed from 7 a.m. April 21 until 7 a.m. April 26 to allow work crews to replace counterweight cables.

The $448,000 project will also require lane closures on the bridge from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the week before and the week after the closure.

The bridge transports 12,000 cars a day with frequent pauses to raise its 800-ton center span to allow ships underneath. The deck and trusses of the 85-year-old structure are showing serious signs of age. Vehicles weighing more than 20 tons have been barred from using the roadway for several years, necessitating a 6-mile detour. Before repairs were made to its understructure in 2005, the load limit was reduced to seven tons for several months.

The replacement of the cables kicks off a $51 million rehabilitation project that may require that the bridge again be closed for several months in 2009 and 2010.

William Kyrouz can walk to Montserrat Station or drive to Beverly Depot, where more trains are available on the commuter rail line. He sent this message via Blackberry during a problematic commute.

"I'm about to pull into North Station so I have to be brief, but yesterday those of us on the Newburyport/Rockport line had another case of awful MBTA/MBCR communication.

"I signed up for T-alerts to my Blackberry, and got a warning that the 110 train was 60 minutes late. Good tip for me, but those at the station had no warning on the LED screens.

"I drove to the Beverly Depot, and then received T-alerts that the next train had been canceled, and the train after that was running 20-30 minutes late. Again, nothing on the LED screens, though I did have this information.

"What I'd like to know is - when was the decision made to cancel train 62? It sits in Beverly for a while before departing, so why the late notice? Why weren't the LED screens working?"

Mass Bay Commuter Railroad spokesman Scott Farmelant had no information on the delay, but did say, "LED signs have experienced failure at a number of different stations in recent weeks. The telecommunications company that provides LED service to MBTA commuter rail is aware of the problems and working to address them."

Scott Wadland was startled while he was preparing to board a train at South Station earlier this month. "As I was walking down the platform, I noticed a man in front of me with a Wackenhut Security uniform who was carrying a firearm in a holster on his belt. After getting on the train, I was not sure if I should notify the conductor, for fear of starting a panic on the train.

"In retrospect, it concerns me that this man was allowed on a crowded passenger train while carrying a firearm. I can understand if the MBTA police are on board, but this appeared to be a private citizen. Are there any policies in place [like those on Amtrak] that prohibit weapons on the train?"

It depends on whether the security guard had a firearms permit.

"The carrying of firearms in Massachusetts is governed and controlled by Massachusetts General Law," Deputy MBTA Transit Police Chief John Martino said. "Persons with a valid permit may carry firearms as allowed, and in accordance with any and all restrictions noted on the permit."

Transportation comments and questions may be sent to starts@globe.com.