When Will MassDOT Close the Central Street Bridge?

The latest update from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has the Central Street bridge in Saxonville, closing on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in 2015.

Last month, MassDOT had said the bridge would close on Dec. 22.

Last week, a sign indicated the bridge would close after Christmas in 2014. But, later that week,the sign was updated to Jan. 5, and then again to Jan. 6.

Once the bridge over the Sudbury River in Saxonville closes, it is not scheduled to re-open until at least August 2015.

It is anticipated the Water Street retaining wall project will “wrap up heavy construction by the time the bridge work begins,” reported the Town of Framingham.

Construction activities on the retaining wall on Water Street will resume in the Spring of 2015, however this work will have minimal impact on traffic in the area.

The Anthony Colonna Bridge, located on Central Street spanning the Sudbury River overlooking the Saxonville mills, was originally built in 1920.

There was a major rehabilitation and most of the substructure elements were built in 1972. It was constructed of precast box beams and supported by concrete abutments on bedrock. The northwest and southwest granite block wing walls are the only elements remaining from the 1920 bridge.

Inspections by both MassDOT, as well as private consultants, have found the superstructure structurally deficient.

More than 8,000 vehicles travel over this bridge on a daily basis and 6 percent of those are estimated to be trucks.

Deconstructing the bridge through the winter months of early 2015 enables construction of the new bridge to begin in early spring 2015 as soon as weather sensitive work (such as concrete forms) is possible, according to MassDOT, who is in charge of the project.

Closing in the winter will enable the shortest amount of time possible for the bridge to be unavailable to traffic, according to MassDOT.

A detour will need to be utilized as the current roadway width limits safe traffic lanes during construction and adjacent facilities prohibit temporary widening, but more importantly; post tensioned tendons need to be cut during the stage construction, reported the Town of Framingham.

Motorists will be directed to the Wickford Bridge for a detour.

Work on the Central Street bridge was scheduled to be started once the Wickford Road Bridge was completed, because MassDOT planned to direct motorists to that bridge during the second Saxonville bridge project.

The state closed Wickford Bridge in March 2013, with the state setting a fall 2013 opening. The bridge did not re-open until July 2014.