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Somerville DPW has a few of these, but I haven't seen them in action after this storm, the snow removal operations I've seen have used skid steers etc.

Ari Osfevit advocates for a ped/bike bridge here: https://ariofsevit.com/apb/2026/01/03/bu-bridge-an-edge-case-where-a-bike-ped-bridge-makes-sense/ I'm pretty sure the existing overpass is too steep to be used for this purpose, even if one thinks it's worth saving which I don't.

I'm mostly referring to the big partial gears and linkage that raise and lower the bridge. I'd have expected the drive mechanism to operate on the counterweight beam.

Looking at it on Street View, that is a _weird_ design for the new bridge.

Hey, I invented the dropback! (Obviously, not the first to do so, and not under that name.) One time when they were turning Red Line trains at Park Street, I observed that the trains just sat there for a few minutes while the operator walked to the other end, and wondered why they don't stagger...

Union Pacific wants to take Big Boy on a coast to coast tour to celebrate the Sestercentennial (yes, that's the correct term for a 250th anniversary), https://www.trains.com/pro/freight/class-i/union-pacific-plans-to-send-the-big-boy-from-coast-to-coast-for-americas-250th/ It'd be awesome if it...

The Transit Costs Project today released the "Momentum Report" on how to improve passenger rail in the US. https://transitcosts.com/momentum/ (summary: electrify everything, focus on improving trip time)

Interesting that they're going to leave part of the TBM down there in anticipation of a future extension. I suppose that also means they don't have to dig a big pit to extract it.

In re old trolley infrastructure, there's also the Railroad Trail in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a former BERy ROW that includes a few bridges.

That would be a nice connection. It's currently doable about halfway across, you have to cut through the parking garage eventually.

How do you get from I-90 EB to I-95 NB?

I walked over the Broadway bridge in Ball Square today and noticed that all of the utilities that were routed over the temporary utility bridge have been removed. I recall that the plan, after the project was rebid, was to keep the utilities on that bridge permanently for cost savings, but it...

So that Bailey bridge is intended to be permanent?

Looks like it doesn't include fixing or eliminating that insane ramp off the NB onramp that drops you into the oncoming lane of Fountain St.

The obvious next step. (source: https://bsky.app/profile/shoshana.bsky.social/post/3lszoikl3fs22)

Could be worse. First time I went out the Thruway, dear gods almost 40 years ago, the service area food service was operated by the state, not contracted out, and the food was about what you'd expect from a state highway department. =:-O

TransitMatters is advocating for a heavy-rail subway link across whatever replaces the Tobin, in order to bring better transit access to Chelsea. https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/where-is-chelseas-subway-station/

The article indicates they want to build full-high platforms to handle the increased passenger volume more efficiently.

Don't they already double-berth the trains? I recall reading somewhere, probably here, that they moved the block boundary to the middle of the platform so they could do that.

They could invest in some block heaters and bigger power drops (which they'd need for the heaters anyway).