Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

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Daily Washington St bridge update. 4 more days. Can't wait to be able to walk to union square again. Oh no, corona virus, nothing to do there now after waiting over a year for this underpass to open again 🤣

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Edit: more pics
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I think they rebuilt the Washington St bridge by drilling piers behind the old abutments and pouring a pier cap on top. The old abutments are permanent retaining walls for a foundation like that.
 
The old bridge (wikimedia image) had very wide side paths, so putting everything back where it was (using the old piers as retaining walls) will actually still leave a very nice space under the bridge. We also got a sizeable gain in underclearance because the old bridge came *lower* on its central span, whereas the new one is both (1) straight across and (2) spans new piers whose tops are (I'd guess) 5' above the old tops.

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RandomWalk said:
I think they rebuilt the Washington St bridge by drilling piers behind the old abutments and pouring a pier cap on top. The old abutments are permanent retaining walls for a foundation like that.
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Couldn't they leave in the part underground to serve as the reinforcement, but chop off the top part at sidewalk level?

It's going to look half-assed having half of the wall concrete, and half as the old bricks. Gives it character I suppose, fitting for the neighborhood. (Or maybe they'll cover the exposed stone with a thin layer of concrete?)
 
A little sad to see that elevated rail get replaced. It has some nice character with the arching supports.
Is there a rendering of the new one somewhere?
 

GLX to Reopen 2 Major Bridges in Somerville This Week | News | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

Washington Street Bridge/Underpass near McGrath Highway to reopen May 31.

Broadway Bridge in Ball Square scheduled to reopen first week of June 2020.

At Washington Street, the roadway underpass will immediately reopen to its full capacity consisting of 1 travel lane in each direction. A temporary pedestrian sidewalk will be open on 1 side of the roadway until final surface restoration is complete. Work will continue overhead on the elevated track level during this phase. Permanent pavement, finished sidewalks on both sides, lighting, and street markings will be completed this summer.

The Broadway Bridge will initially re-open with 1 travel lane in each direction. During this early stage, temporary accessible sidewalks and bicycle lanes will be installed on 1 side of the bridge allowing pedestrian and bicycle travel in both directions at all times. Final surface restorations are expected to be completed this summer. At that time, the bridge will include permanent pavement markings with 2 travel lanes in each direction in addition to finished sidewalks and bicycle lanes on each side of the bridge. When the future Ball Square Station (now under construction) is complete, the bridge will feature a fully accessible entrance to the station platform from the bridge sidewalk via an elevator and staircase. A second at-grade entrance will also be constructed from Boston Avenue.
 
Wait, why is the new Broadway Bridge getting two traffic lanes in each direction? Broadway is not a two-lane street in that section.
 
Balerion said:
Wait, why is the new Broadway Bridge getting two traffic lanes in each direction? Broadway is not a two-lane street in that section.
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The previous configuration had a turn lane for Boston Ave, and parking right up to both ends of the bridge on the opposite side (dead lane on the bridge).
 
That's news to me also; they'd originally said it would be one lane each direction plus bike lanes. New bridge looks wide for two in each direction though.
 
I know he was asking what the supports look like thats the reason I posted that.
 
I feel like I've missed something... are there no fare gates? Did they do on fare collection to save money?
 
ryblogs said:
Couldn't they leave in the part underground to serve as the reinforcement, but chop off the top part at sidewalk level?

It's going to look half-assed having half of the wall concrete, and half as the old bricks. Gives it character I suppose, fitting for the neighborhood. (Or maybe they'll cover the exposed stone with a thin layer of concrete?)
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Maybe they wanted to preserve the old wall for historic reasons (Section 106 and SHPPO)..
 
etik said:
View attachment 5387
Taking out the ties (?)
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Work for the new under the old
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Yeah, I love the old elevated rail structures, mostly gone unfortunately. Here's a drawing of the old Green Line elevated near North Station, posted on the old official Big Dig project website at the time, artist unknown:

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