Washington Street Bridge Closure Extended In Somerville

SOMERVILLE, MA — The MBTA on Wednesday announced an extension of the Washington Street bridge and underpass closure through the winter. Transit officials said the extension will move up the permanent reopening of the underpass by five months.

The original plan called for the bridge and underpass to temporarily reopen for the winter and close again from April 2020 through the summer. The bridge will instead remain closed and is expected to permanently reopen in the spring.

"While we acknowledge extending the closure is inconvenient, the schedule change allows us to accomplish more work within a shorter timeframe," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said in a statement. "As we continue our efforts to build a better, safer, more reliable MBTA, making these types of adjustments allows us to deliver improvements even faster than originally planned."

For the duration of this closure, all traffic will be detoured around the work zone via Pearl Street and McGrath Highway. Detour maps and directions are available on www.mass.gov/GLX in the Bridge Closures section.

To stay informed about construction, sign up to receive a weekly email outlining upcoming construction citywide at www.somervillema.gov/construction. Residents are also encouraged to enroll in the City’s alert system at www.somervillema.gov/alerts to ensure they’re notified prior to major detours or disruptive construction activity in their neighborhood.