Beverly's Kernwood Bridge Forced To Close (Again) Friday Afternoon

Updated 3:30 p.m.

BEVERLY, MA — The was more bridge trouble in Beverly on Friday as the Kernwood Bridge was closed near the start of an afternoon commute for the second time in two weeks.

The state Department of Transportation said at about 1:45 p.m. that the bridge was closed in both directions because of a mechanical issue. No timetable was immediately given for its reopening.

Drivers were advised to seek alternate routes.

"MassDot and their bridge contractor are on scene and still assessing the timeline for the repair," Beverly police said about 2:45 p.m.

The closure comes 15 days after the bridge was also shut down because of a "mechanical issue" on July 14. That shutdown began at 2:30 p.m. and lasted for more than two hours before the bridge reopened to traffic.

The Kernwood closures come at the same time that the Hall-Whitaker Bridge remains closed to traffic after it was determined to be structurally deficient late last month.

The state decided to shut down the Hall-Whitaker Bridge in June with Mayor Mike Cahill saying at a public forum on that bridge's closure on June 23 that it could take months to determine whether a temporary bridge can even be placed in the location.

Officials said they hoped to have an update on the Hall-Whitaker replacement bridge project sometime later this summer.

"A temporary bridge may or may not be possible," Cahill said. "But we hope that it is."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)