(The following report appeared on the Boston Globe website on August 18.)
BOSTON — More than 13 percent of the state’s commuter rail bridges are structurally deficient, including the Merrimack River bridge, where officials have slowed train speeds to 5 mph, according to a published report.
The Merrimack River bridge in Haverhill is the state’s only rail bridge that is similar in design to the steel deck truss bridge that collapsed Aug. 1 in Minneapolis, killing at least 11 people. The Merrimack River bridge also carries the Amtrak Downeaster.
The MBTA, after the Minneapolis collapse, directed consultants to begin a monthlong inspection of the bridge to determine if it needs immediate repairs before a scheduled $8.4 million rehabilitation next year.
“This is a bridge that is frail but not yet failed, and what we’re trying to do is bring the resources necessary to get it back to full strength,” MBTA general manager Daniel Grabauskas told The Boston Globe.
“I don’t want us to take any chances relative to the safety of our customers, and if that means that we need to slow down over some bridges until we get a full answer on … what caused the collapse, then we’re going to do that,” he added.
Two days after the Minneapolis bridge collapse, T officials ordered that trains crossing the Merrimack River bridge to reduce their speed from the already reduced speed of 10 mph to 5 mph. Officials also prohibited trains from traveling the bridge’s dual tracks at the same time.
A Globe reviewed the most recent inspection records from the MBTA’s database and inspection reports for several problem bridges. Thirty-eight of the 281 railroad bridges owned by the T are considered structurally deficient.
The Merrimack bridge and an aging bridge in Concord — which carries the Fitchburg commuter rail line over Route 62 — are among 10 bridges in line for repairs as part of the MBTA’s long-term capital plan. It’s unclear how much the repairs will cost, the newspaper reported.
Rail bridges have not received as much public focus as highway bridges since the Minneapolis collapse.
The Clement Street Bridge in Northampton was closed last week, on advice from state highway officials, until repairs are complete, which could take up to a year. The bridge, built in the 1890s, was the first in Massachusetts to be ordered closed since the Minneapolis accident.
On Thursday, a federal report assessing the state’s 2006 stem-to-stern safety review of Boston’s Big Dig highway project cited problems with warped steel anchor plates on the Leonard Zakim Bridge, which state officials said they have addressed.