BOSTON (WHDH) - The Commonwealth Avenue Bridge reopened Saturday following three weeks of intensive reconstruction.
Two-way traffic was restored just after 5 a.m. when the latest phase of the bridge reconstruction project wrapped up, according to Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials.
“Hundreds of hours of engineering went into thinking about how the construction could be done in such a way as to allow the public to still get around by bike, on foot, using the MBTA, by Amtrak and by vehicle,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack.
According to MassDOT, the project met major milestones including, reopening I-90 to all lanes of travel on Aug. 5, opening the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge to Green Line B train service yesterday, and the anticipated opening to vehicular traffic today of the Commonwealth Avenue and Boston University Bridges.
Looking ahead, members of the public are advised to continue to use caution in the days and weeks ahead as final tasks still will occur in off-peak hours. Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver says, “We are going to be doing some minor concrete work, there’s going to be some additional pavement, there’s going to be a lot of finish work. So, this is similar to what we had last year.”
The Boston University Bridge is also set to reopen by midday.
The project began on July 27 and impacted commuters all across the city.
The $110 million Commonwealth Bridge replacement project, is estimated to take four to five years using conventional techniques with significant lane-takings and service disruptions, is scheduled for full completion in 2019 under the accelerated plans.
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