May 2015
Please be advised that effective Tuesday, May 26th at 10:00 AM the Washington Avenue Bridge located in Chelsea, MA will be closed as part of the MassDOT Silver Line Gateway Project.
Appropriate detour signs will be in place to redirect traffic and pedestrians, and identify relocated bus stops. Please note that the sidewalk on the west side of the bridge will remain open during the first phase of construction. The bridge closure is anticipated to last between 12-14 months to complete this work.
The following detours will be in place during the closure:
 Traffic traveling southbound on Washington Avenue : Turn left on Crescent Avenue; turn right on Broadway; turn right on City Hall Avenue; then turn left on Washington Avenue to reach Bellingham Square.
 Traffic traveling northbound on Hawthorne Street to Washington Avenue: At Bellingham
Square, turn right on Broadway; then turn left on Cary Avenue to Washington Avenue.
Silver Line Gateway Project
The Silver Line Gateway will follow the existing Silver Line route in the Seaport District, before providing a new connection to the Blue Line and East Boston residents at Airport Station. In Chelsea, the Silver Line Gateway will operate in a new dedicated busway built in the former Grand Junction railroad right of way (now owned by the Commonwealth). There will be four new stations built in the busway—Eastern Avenue, Box District, Downtown Chelsea, and Mystic Mall. In addition to the
Commonwealth’s purchase of the Grand Junction right of way from CSX, the Silver Line Gateway is able to leverage other recent public infrastructure investments, such as the Chelsea Street Bridge,
Massport's Coughlin Bypass Road, and Airport Station on the MBTA’s Blue Line.
Washington Avenue Bridge
The Washington Avenue Bridge in Chelsea, which spans the existing commuter rail line and planned busway, is functionally obsolete and required to be replaced as part of the Silver Line Gateway Project.
The replacement bridge will provide enough clearance for the rail line and two busway lanes to pass beneath it. In addition, the existing Chelsea Commuter Rail station will be relocated to a new fully accessible station west of Everett Avenue, co-located with a new Silver Line Gateway Mystic Mall BRT station. A new Downtown Chelsea BRT station will replace the existing commuter rail station. It will feature a more direct connection to Bellingham Square via new access to Washington Avenue.
MassDOT is constructing the other two BRT stations in Chelsea at Eastern Avenue and in the Box
District. A shared-use path will be incorporated into the project along the west side of the busway generally between Broadway and Eastern Avenue.
For more information, detour maps, and routing information, please visit the Silver Line Gateway project website: www.massdot.state.ma.us/silverlinegateway
MBTA Bus service updates are available at the following link: http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/
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