Boston

Drivers Beware: Commonwealth Avenue Bridge Replacement Begins Tonight

The project to replace the Commonwealth Avenue bridge is expected to disrupt travel for tens of thousands of commuters

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is asking drivers to avoid the construction area along the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston and the Boston University neighborhood once bridge replacement begins Wednesday evening.

The project to replace the Commonwealth Avenue bridge is expected to disrupt travel for tens of thousands of commuters once it begins at 9 p.m.

Commuters on the MBTA's Green Line B and the Worcester/Framingham rail line and the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited will be affected by the construction. Shuttle buses will replace service for Green Line “B” branch stops after they shut down near the construction zone Wednesday evening.

Commuters on the MBTA's Green Line B branch will be on shuttle buses between the Babcock and Blanford Street stations from 9 p.m. July 26 to 5 a.m. Aug. 14, while service on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail lines will terminate at Boston Landing on the weekends. Commuters can take a shuttle to Reservoir on the Green Line's D branch to reach their destination. There will also be extra Green Line trains running from Reservoir to Park Street to accommodate these passengers.

There will also be a shuttle for Boston Red Sox home games on July 29, July 30, Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 between Boston Landing and Yawkey Station.

Buses will replace train service between South Station and Albany, New York, for Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited line during the weekends of July 29-30 and Aug. 5-6.

Commonwealth Avenue from Packard's Corner to Kenmore Square and the BU Bridge will be closed to cars from 7 p.m. July 27 to 5 a.m. Aug. 14. Find a full list of detours here.

Pedestrians and bicyclists will have full access across the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge on the westbound side during construction. Bicyclists heading in both directions between Mountfort/Essex Street and the BU Bridge will follow a minor detour route.

Traffic on the Mass. Pike will be reduced to two lanes in both directions between the Allston Interchange and the Beacon Street Overpass from 9 p.m. July 28 to 5 a.m. Aug. 7. This same area will also be reduced to one lane in each direction during weekend and overnight hours.

The eastbound on-ramp from Cambridge Street/Soldiers Field Road will be closed, and the I-90 westbound exit 20 off-ramp to Brighton/Cambridge will be intermittently closed. It's unclear when these intermittent closures will happen.

MassDOT hopes to have things back to normal by Aug. 14.

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