Feds shut down lanes on deteriorating Longfellow Bridge

By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

Federal highway officials -- dissatisfied with the state's oversight of truck restrictions on the deteriorating Longfellow Bridge -- shut down two lanes of the bridge effective Saturday, narrowing a major thoroughfare between Boston and Cambridge.

The Federal Highway Administration also asked the state to ban large trucks from the bridge completely -- rather than restricting them only from the inner lanes. As of Saturday, the Longfellow can no longer be used by 18-wheelers and large trucks, though pickup trucks, Duck Boats, and delivery vans could still cross it.

The restrictions will remain in effect until repairs to the bridge are complete, hopefully in the fall.

The Longfellow -- a major thoroughfare connecting Boston and Cambridge over the Charles River -- will now be squeezed from four lanes to two, crunching the commutes of roughly 50,000 vehicles a day.

The federal order was the latest expression of concern for the timeworn Longfellow, which is long overdue for an overhaul, and which garnered new attention after a Minnesota bridge collapsed last August.

Since that time, inspectors and repair crews have been working on the bridge almost nightly to restore worn steel components and ensure the Longfellow's integrity while awaiting a major bridge renovation project. The full bridge overhaul is not expected to start until at least 2011.

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