Long-closed lane is a pain on BU Bridge

Working hard or hardly working? That's the question tipster Robert Grant of West Roxbury has about what's going on - or not going on - with construction on the Boston University Bridge.

"Back in early June, the DCR blocked off one of the sidewalks on the bridge along with the adjacent traffic lane going from Cambridge to Boston," Grant writes. "They erected a sign in the adjacent traffic rotary proudly proclaiming they were reconstructing the sidewalk. The closing of this lane has significantly aggravated the normally severe gridlock in the rotary during the evening commute. This would be understandable (clearly if the bridge needs work it should be repaired) except for one thing. Since the closure of the traffic lane nearly two months ago, no actual work has been performed. The hundreds, if not thousands, of person-hours wasted by commuters stuck in the rotary has been for absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell - and I go over the bridge twice every work day.

"I have tried contacting my state representative (Mike Rush) and senator (Marion Walsh), and they don't seem very interested in my concerns. I would appreciate it if you would use the Globe's clout to shine a light on this ridiculous situation."

Indeed, GlobeWatch wrote about the sorry condition of the BU Bridge and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation's plans to begin a $2.3 million restoration in late April. At the time, DCR spokeswoman Wendy Fox said work was to get underway as soon as the CSX Corp., which owns the train tracks under the bridge, signed off on the project.

A visit to the bridge on Aug. 4 found traffic at a near standstill during evening rush hour. Three or four lanes of irritated drivers from Memorial Drive and Brookline Street attempted to funnel into a single lane to cross from Cambridgeport into Boston.

The backlog caused traffic from Boston to Cambridge to slow as well, as drivers tried to get through the clogged rotary.

Pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists also found getting over the bridge more difficult with one sidewalk blocked, as many had to cross two lanes of traffic to get back onto riverside paths.

"Actually, DCR was working on those sidewalks during the last several weeks, but often at night and often under the surface, out of sight," Fox stated in an e-mail to GlobeWatch about Grant's complaint. Unforeseen permitting issues did slow some of the work in June, she added.

Fox said that on Aug. 4, department crews began the major work of replacing the bridge's sidewalks. In addition to the lane already closed, another is closed at night while the work is being done, leaving one lane in each direction open for traffic, she said. Last week, additional crews worked from a river barge to install a protective shield under the bridge from 7 a.m. until midnight each day.

Work will be done first on the sidewalk next to the Cambridge-to-Boston travel lanes. The project, which will take about three months, involves replacing both sidewalk spans, including their supporting steel beams and the approach sidewalk at each end, and repairing and painting the sidewalk railings. The DCR has been issuing traffic updates on a weekly or as-needed basis to keep residents informed of changes during the construction, Fox said.

Rick Sullivan, commissioner
Department of Conservation and Recreation
251 Causeway St., Suite 600
Boston, MA 02114-2104
617-626-1250