MBTA Gloucester Drawbridge return to service targeted for May 2022
Single-track rail service is expected to return to the final two stations on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Rockport Line in May 2022. Service to the Gloucester and Rockport Stations was suspended in April 2020 “due to unforeseen site conditions” associated with the Gloucester Drawbridge Replacement project.
The 110-year-old two-track bascule bridge is being replaced by two single-track movable bridges. Construction began in 2017 under a contract that required service be maintained during the replacement. However, the northwest retaining wall was found to be failing and excavation of the bridge’s east abutment showed problems with the foundation, which prompted MBTA to immediately suspend train service. Replacement bus service has brought riders to Gloucester and Rockport stations since rail service was halted.
MBTA says the unexpected closure brought several benefits including the opportunity to accelerate the construction schedule, reduce project costs, enhance safety and advance maintenance projects originally scheduled for 2022 that would have interrupted rail service.
The service suspension was expanded to provide MBTA time to complete these maintenance projects that include:
- Replacing more than 11,000 wood crossties with plastic crossties between Cleveland Street in Gloucester and Poole’s Lane in Rockport; additionally, the track was realigned and the rail was treated to bring it within current rail neutral temperature standards to prevent buckles and kinks, which can occur in hot weather;
- Replacing 11 150-year-old “stacked stone” box culverts with concrete pipe to restore water flow with a twelfth culvert scheduled to be replaced in early spring of 2022;
- Switches and special trackwork were renewed beyond Poole’s Lane;
- Both Gloucester and Rockport Stations were repainted and given a deep clean; and
- The Maple Street grade crossing in Gloucester was replaced.
MBTA says work to be completed includes removing loose rock from the ledges along the tracks by the Route 128 bridge, as well as other cyclical maintenance efforts.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
