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For riders to Foxboro, a bit of bad luck: One of the bridges has been hit by a truck
By adamg on Mon, 05/15/2023 - 2:04pm
The MBTA reports all service to Foxborough canceled under further notice because the driver of a truck hauling a trash compactor managed to slam his rig into a bridge in Dedham, hard enough to require track repairs. Here's hoping they get it fixed before Friday's Taylor Swift show at Gillette, because you don't want to get Swifties mad.
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Comments
Service resumed but slowed
From the WCVB story:
I'd root for the MBTA to fix this in time...
But it's exhausting rooting for the anti-hero...
(Yes, I am admitting I've actually heard a TS song - please don't judge me, it's playing on the speakers in our store regularly now.)
Too bad the bridge
Couldn’t shake it off.
notorious truck-eating bridge
where is that video montage.
It's a different bridge
The infamous one is in Westwood. This one is in Dedham. Probably the same height, but at least wider.
East St bridge
No doubt
But it was the Westwood Police who had the bridge cam.
You’ll have to hang out at the rotary to see these crashes.
I know that bridge
The clearance is ridiculously low. Why can't they dig the street down a couple feet and solve the clearance problem?
This one is a foot and a half
This one is a foot and a half higher than the infamous one in Islington was, but that one has been raised to 12' about 4 or 5 years ago.
I don't get this
How is it okay that Franklin trains can pass by not Foxborough trains? It's not like this is along the sub. Both lines go over this bridge.
Only one of two tracks is in use from Norwood to Endicott
Probably leading to too much bottleneck potential for two lines' worth of trains. Since the Franklin line gets more passengers I'm guessing it gets priority.
Notwithstanding my sarcastic comment from above, in the unlikely event this is still not fixed by Friday evening I think they'll let the special trains to the concert go forward.
I still don’t get it
Both tracks go over the bridge.
Perhaps
Only one set of tracks was affected by this truck strike?
Light has dawned on Marble Head
Indeed, the article references track repairs.
It just seemed like bridge repairs would be the more likely repairs than track repairs, as the bridge carries the tracks.
This should be completed easily by Swift day.
Indeed!
If you zoom in on the location, you can see that there are two separate bridge spans separated by a foot or two. You can plainly see this on Street View here. The truck it one and misaligned the track (it's quite possible the truck only hit the crossties and not the metal structure). That will have to be repaired. The other one was unaffected since the force of the truck was absorbed by the first bridge and the granite abutments.
It's a good thing there wasn't a train on the bridge when this happened because in that case it could have been a lot more serious although at a low speed approaching Endicott, where most trains stop, a train could probably manage a minor misalignment. If train 724 or 743 had hit a misaligned track at track speed there (70 mph) then it could have been more serious. The T should install an iron bar preceding low bridges to mitigate this sort of potential damage (and really, it should get the road users who cause the damage to pay for it).
When Taylor Swift and Bob Kraft says Fix it
The bridge will be fixed in time for the concert ..Its not like its the stairs at JFK and Milton station which will take years to fix.
Important people
Not some schlub University professor and father of two.
Huh?
At least three sets of stairs at JFK/UMass have been fixed recently.
pssst
dont interrupt someone with facts when they are doing their favorite pastime.. hitting the punching bag known as the MBTA.