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Longfellow Bridge Project Update

caution sign The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 10 years ago.

Longfellow Bridge

Update courtesy of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project Update
“Salt and Pepper” Tower Dismantling to Begin this Week


More than 100 years after the last stone was set on the “salt and pepper” towers of the Longfellow Bridge, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will begin dismantling them for storage, cleaning, and repair as part of the Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project. The work is anticipated to begin later this week, and is weather dependent.

The tower dismantling work will take place using a barge-mounted crane on the Charles River. On Thursday, March 6, MassDOT’s contractor, White-Skanska-Consigli JV, will begin preparations by moving into place the crane via barge from the staging area in Charlestown to the upstream side of the bridge. An ice-breaker will precede the barge to provide an unobstructed path. Once the crane is in position at the Cambridge tower the granite stones will be removed and loaded on a barge. The stones will be taken to the contractor’s staging area for cleaning, storage, and repair.

The towers will be dismantled to sidewalk level only. All remaining pier granite below the sidewalk will be restored in place. During stone removal, waterway access will be partially restricted through span 7 (see waterway navigation plan attached), immediately adjacent to the tower. Booms and lighting will be deployed in accordance with US Coast Guard requirements for boater safety.

Concurrent with the tower granite removal, the contractor will need to demolish a concrete liner to expose the inner face of the tower stonework. The concrete demolition work will take place from staging set within the towers and will not be visible to pedestrians from street level. Once the Cambridge-side tower is dismantled, the contractor will start work on the adjacent upstream Boston tower (or Pier 5). The two downstream towers will be dismantled and restored when that side of the bridge is rehabilitated during the final phase of construction, which is planned to begin in fall 2015.

As conditions dictate, the uppermost stones comprising the tower roof may need to be removed using a mobile crane situated on the bridge deck. In this case, the work will be done at night, during MBTA Red Line non-service hours.

The contractor plans to rebuild the iconic towers after seismic reinforcement construction is completed within the bridge tower piers. The fully restored upstream “salt and pepper” tower stonework is planned to be reassembled on the bridge later this year.

For more information on the project, visit the website at www.mass.gov/massdot/longfellowbridge. For questions or to report issues related to construction, please call the project hotline at 617-519-9892 or email longfellowbridge@state.ma.us.

In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) was created to unify the state’s various transportation agencies. MassDOT now includes the Highway Division, the MBTA and Rail Transit Division, the Aeronautics Division, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. MassDOT is committed to providing a safe and reliable transportation system to all those who travel in the Commonwealth and works to deliver excellent customer service. MassDOT has been nationally recognized for its innovative approach to transportation, including the Accelerated Bridge Program, the “Where’s My Bus and Train?” apps and “Fast 14” work. For more information, visit MassDOT at our website: www.mass.gov/massdot blog: http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/, or follow MassDOT on twitter at https://twitter.com/MassDOT and Facebook at www.facebook.com/massdotinfo.

Page was posted on 5/8/2018 4:46 PM
Page was last modified on 7/25/2023 3:35 AM
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