Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Massachusetts Awards Contracts for South Coast Rail Bridge Replacements

(SOURCE:  Trains.com Newswire)

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has awarded a contract for the replacement of four bridges in New Bedford and Fall River along the future South Coast commuter rail line. The four bridges to be replaced include the President Avenue, Brownell Avenue, and Golf Club Road Bridges in Fall River, and the three-span Wamsutta Bridge in New Bedford.

In addition, a separate Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority contract will upgrade five grade crossings located on Dean Street in Taunton; Copicut Road, Elm and High Streets in Freetown; and Nash Road in New Bedford.

All early-action projects will be completed over the next two years while ongoing preliminary engineering design work continues on the overall South Coast Rail project.

The South Coast Rail project will restore passenger service from Boston’s South Station to the South Coast of Massachusetts. The cities of Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford are the only cities within 50 miles of Boston that are not served by commuter rail.

As part of the early action projects associated with the South Coast Rail Project, the $42 million project will replace the three Fall River bridges and the Wamsutta Bridge in New Bedford. The contract for the bridge replacement work was awarded to Cardi Corp.

In June, the MassDOT board of directors approved a contract award of $210 million over 10 years to the joint venture of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Corp. The contract officially moved the South Coast Rail project from planning to construction. The board granted $12 million in first year funding to begin program management, early design development and environmental permitting, with additional awards in succeeding years up to the contract limit of $210 million. The bridge replacement project is in addition to the 10-year South Coast Rail contract.

The state purchased the New Bedford-Fall River line from CSX in 2009.

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