Jan 22, 2008 2:31 pm US/Eastern
Problems At Beverly Commuter Bridge For 4th Time
BEVERLY (WBZ) ―
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The bridge over the Danvers River in Beverly caused problems for commuters again Tuesday morning.
WBZ
The troublesome commuter rail bridge in Beverly is causing headaches for North Shore commuters again.
The swing bridge on the Newburyport/Rockport line has been shutdown three times since December 21, 2007 when it was struck by a barge.
Tuesday morning commuter trains were forced to run over the bridge that connects Beverly to Salem over the Danvers River at reduced speeds. Commuters were told to expect 15-20 minutes delays because of this.
The MBTA also cancelled the 6:30 a.m. inbound train.
Just last Thursday, the bridge wouldn't close after it was opened at around 7:15 a.m. to let a lobster boat through. The bridge was eventually locked into place at 2:30 p.m. after temporary repairs were made, and train service resumed.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the problem was a gearbox that was replaced after the bridge had a mechanical failure on January 2nd.
Crews made permanent repairs to the bridge on Friday.
Pesaturo believes the barge may have knocked the bridge out of alignment, which probably affected the gearbox.
One commuter we spoke to Tuesday morning who takes the train into Boston every day from Beverly wasn't surprised.
"Amazingly I was not much later than I have always been every morning," Myra Pueschel said. "That's probably because the train is late ten minutes almost every day. This time they were reporting it though because the media was watching or something."
She's not the only commuter expressing frustration with the MBTA. "I am a regular
commuter on the Newburyport line. Fortunately the early morning's news
reported today's delay. Because I live in Amesbury, I was able to take the
Haverhill commuter rail instead,: said Cyndi Sullivan of Amesbury. "The drive is approximately 10 minutes longer
to Haverhill but I will probably continue to take the Haverhill line as the
Newburyport line hasn't been reliable lately."
Was your commute affected by the broken bridge?
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(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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