MassDOT ‘feeling confident’ Comm Ave., BU bridges will reopen this week
Commuters who got a pleasant surprise last weekend — that construction that was causing delays on a stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike had wrapped up weeks ahead of schedule — are seeing a check on their good luck this week.
The Commonwealth Avenue and Boston University bridges, which have been closed to drivers since the end of July, were supposed to be open by Monday.
But the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said on Saturday that rain had interfered with its plans to get the bridges open for the start of the workweek.
On Sunday, MassDOT spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard said the agency was “feeling confident’’ it would have the bridges open to cars and public transportation by the middle of the week.
Recent rain kept construction workers from laying concrete, MassDOT said in a statement. Despite crews working around the clock, they were behind schedule over the weekend in placing rail and grout, the department said. The concrete needs 24 hours to set and the rail needs to be tested before service can resume, according to MassDOT.
“The wet weather was a major factor,’’ said Goddard, who wished for “cooperation from Mother Nature’’ in the coming days.
The MBTA is running shuttle buses between Babcock Street and Blandford Street stations until midweek. Temporary Hubway stations have been installed on Babcock Street and Silber Way through a partnership with MassDOT to make biking easier during the construction.
The stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike that runs through Allston will still be at its full-capacity of four lanes in each direction, MassDOT said.
Once this phase of construction wraps up, commuters will see fewer and milder disruptions. Smaller tasks such as installing sidewalks and curbs on the bridges “are expected to occur throughout the coming weeks and are not expected to significantly impact traffic or the local community,’’ MassDOT said in a statement.
Commuters can expect short-term lane closures on Commonwealth Avenue during off-peak hours over the next few weeks, according to MassDOT.
