There’s good news for West Gloucester neighbors and not so good news for commuter rail riders affected by the MBTA’s $100 million project to replace the Gloucester Drawbridge that carries the rails over the Annisquam River.
Let’s get the not so good news out of the way first: Issues with the MBTA’s supply chain combined with bridge construction complexities mean commuter rail service to Rockport will not be restored this month as anticipated, said Brad Nicoll, MBTA’s deputy chief of bridges and structures.
Commuter rail riders should expect to continue to ride a shuttle bus between West Gloucester and Rockport until the trains are back in service, said Jody Ray, assistant general manager for the MBTA commuter rail.
“That system is working, and we have a plan for ridership increases and the capability, if needed, to increase capacity,” he said.
Weekend riders should note that, until further notice, inbound trains on the Rockport Line may experience delays up to 20 minutes as National Grid carries out necessary maintenance work. Outbound trains will not be impacted.
Now to the good news: A new location for the rail switch — where trains turnaround — should alleviate the noise from idling and other train operations experienced by neighbors of the West Gloucester T station.
A number of West Gloucester residents had raised frustrations and concerns of how much noise trains idling at the old switch were making once the trains stopped traveling over the bridge in April 2020. The most recent work has been to relocate the rail switch on the west approach, further away from West Gloucester neighborhoods, such as Lyndale Avenue.
“The dwell time is dramatically minimized with this latest change,” said state Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr of Gloucester. “It won’t be in the neighborhood for long periods of time.”
Tarr, a Gloucester resident, has been working with the MBTA to address the issues raised by West Gloucester neighbors.
The new switch will be about 700 feet — about one train length — from the unfinished bridge, as the train must pass the switch to turn around. Nicoll said the MBTA built out the causeway there. At the switch, engineers will go from one end of the train to the other as part of the turnaround process, and test the trains’ brakes, a noise of which the West Gloucester neighbors complained.
Commuter rail trains awaiting West Gloucester station passengers currently idle at a rock cut area just inbound of Manchester’s Summer Street overhead bridge. That will continue, Ray said.
During the time the trains have not been traveling between Rockport and West Gloucester, the MBTA has accelerated other projects planned for the line, Ray said. That work included upgrading signal systems and installing Positive Train Control (PTC). The PTC systems use satellites and radio signals to monitor trains. If problems are detected, on-board computers take over to slow a train or bring it to a stop.
Another project replaced creosote-treated wood ties in the stretch of track along the Babson Reservoir with plastic composite ties, Ray said. The ties replaced stretch from Cleveland Street in Gloucester past the reservoir to Pooles Lane in Rockport.
“We could never have done that work while the trains were running,” Ray said.
Tarr called the job to replace the ties “really significant” as its prevents creosote contamination of Rockport and Gloucester’s drinking water. “It was the perfect time to do it,” he added.
Work on the drawbridge continues. While machinery, gears and one 240-ton span are in place, crews are working on the electronics and other components, but pieces are still missing, Nicoll said. “These are systems that all need to talk to each other correctly to safely operate the trains,” he added.
The overall project is on track to be completed in 2022 and on budget, Nicoll said.
Tarr said the T and local leaders are mindful of issues Rockport residents will have once the trains are running to their town again. “This will give us time to explore options. We don’t have all the answers yet, but we have time,” he said.
Over the course of the drawbridge project, the MBTA has created multiple lines of communication for the general public which include www.MBTA.com/GloucesterDraw, a fact sheet, a project email list for advisories and newsletters, public meetings, briefings with elected officials and staff, and legislative briefings.
Those with questions and issues pertaining to the project may contact the MBTA at GloucesterDraw@MBTA.com.
Andrea Holbrook may be contacted at 978-675-2713 or aholbrook@gloucestertimes.com.
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