Massachusetts Department of Transportation - Accelerated Bridge Program

Accelerated Bridge Program

The Accelerated Bridge Program is a bond bill signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick in August 2008, a year after the I-35 bridge collapse put the state's bridges in the spotlight. The $3 billion, 8-year accelerated bridge program will replace and rehabilitate around 200 bridges state-wide. 300–500 additional bridges will be preserved to prevent further deterioration. The goal of the program is to reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges from its current number of 563.

The MassDOT has called the Accelerated Bridge Program the "Laboratory of Innovation". Engineers on each project are invited to investigate other options to replace the bridges faster and more efficiently to reopen the bridges to traffic faster. Some of these options for the projects are

• Design/Build (e.g. I-495 Lowell)
• Prefabricated Girders
• Prefabricated Deck Panels (e.g. I-495 Lowell)
• Prefabricated Substructure
• Heavy Lift of slide in bridge (e.g. Route 2 Phillipston)
• Float in bridge (e.g. Craigie Drawbridge)
• Modular Bridges (e.g. I-93 Medford)
• Bridge in a Back Pack
• Bridges constructed in a single phase with traffic detoured

The program will repair and replace some of the biggest bridges in the commonwealth. Some of these projects include:

• Huntington - Route 112 over CSX Bridge $18.6 million rehab
• Storrow Drive Tunnel rehab $11 million
• Lowell - Replacement of six bridges along I-495 $34 million
• Fall River - Braga Bridge painting $14.8 million
• Westminster - replacement of Route 2 Over Route 140 bridges $11 million
• Longfellow Bridge Phase 1 rehab $18 million
• Chicopee-Springfield preservation of bridges along I-91 $17 million
• Craigie Drawbridge replacement $40 million.