An MBTA commuter train crosses one of two drawbridges over the Charles River as it leaves North Station. The commuter agency is beginning the process of replacing the drawbridges, which are a bottleneck for trains entering and leaving the station.
Scott A. Hartley
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has begun the process of replacing two drawbridges that create a bottleneck for service in and out of Boston’s North Station.
The Boston Globe reports that the MBTA has issued calls design and construction of a new bridge to replace the two double-track bridges, each more than 80 years old, that cross the Charles River near the station. The plan is to replace the two bridges with a six-track bridge, opening up two tracks and a platform at North Station that have never been used for commuter service because of the bottleneck.
The project is estimated to cost at least $100 million and might not be completed until 2026. The Globe report says the design process alone will take two years.
