Feb 4, 2008 10:39 am US/Eastern
Beverly Commuter Rail Bridge Stuck Again
BEVERLY (WBZ) ―
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The bridge over the Danvers River in Beverly caused problems for commuters again Monday morning.
WBZ
The troublesome commuter rail bridge in Beverly caused headaches for North Shore commuters again Monday morning.
The swing bridge that connects Beverly to Salem over the Danvers River on the Newburyport/Rockport line got stuck again; forcing the T to bus commuters between the two cities.
Thankfully crews were able to get the bridge unstuck shortly before 6 a.m.
It's the fourth time the bridge has been stuck since being struck by a barge on December 21, 2007.
The line was also delayed last month by problems with the bridge when commuter trains were forced to run over the bridge at reduced speeds. Commuters were told to expect 15-20 minutes delays because of that problem. The MBTA also cancelled an inbound train that day.
Earlier in January 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 that Friday.
Pesaturo believes the barge may have knocked the bridge out of alignment, which probably affected the gearbox.
Commuters we talked to said this type of thing doesn't surprise them, they say its become commonplace with the T.Mark from Middleboro emailed us and said the MBTA should adopt
this new slogan:
"We're not happy unless
you're not happy". "I believe they all take delight when we are all late for
work, at least this has been my experience for 15 years," wrote Mark.
One commuter we spoke to the last time the bridge got stuck wasn't surprised.
"Amazingly I was not much later than I have always been every morning," said Myra Pueschel, who takes the train into Boston every day from Beverly. "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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