North Shore rail bridge may have been knocked out of alignment

(AP Photo)

Crews working on the bridge after it was struck by the barge in late December.

By Globe Staff

A commuter rail bridge connecting Beverly and Salem may have been knocked out of alignment when it was hit by a barge last month, and that may have caused two subsequent failures in the bridge's gearbox, a spokesman for the commuter railroad said this morning.

Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, said that assessment came from an engineering expert and the makers of the gearbox who examined the bridge yesterday.

The swing-type drawbridge, which carries commuters on the Newburyport-Rockport line over the Danvers River, was out of commission yesterday for about seven hours after it opened and could not be locked back in place. It was the third time in recent weeks that the bridge had experienced problems. The bridge had gearbox problems on Jan. 2; it was hit by the barge on Dec. 21.

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad runs the commuter trains for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Officials have said the bridge will not be opened for boats -- allowing uninterrupted train service -- until permanent repairs have been made.

"Everyone involved is equally as frustrated as the customers that these problems continue to persist," said Farmelant.

Farmelant noted that even before the problems, the MBCR and MBTA staff had recommended an overhaul of the bridge, which was built in 1886 and partially rebuilt in 1985. The overhaul could cost $4.8 million.

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