Photo: Jared Brosnan/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (State House News Service) — Asked at a community meeting if the state is considering replacing the Tobin Bridge with a tunnel, the project manager leading planning studies responded Wednesday that it wasn't out of the question.
A working group is only two months into an 18-month study to examine options to succeed the 74-year-old bridge that connects Chelsea and Boston's Charlestown neighborhood and serves as a lifeline between Boston and the area north of the capital city.
The eventual project is all but certain to be enormously disruptive, given the tens of thousands of vehicles -- 87,000 per typical weekday last year -- that rely on the bridge that carries Route 1 over the Mystic River. But changes are also years away: the planning study alone will not be complete until the summer of 2026.
Community member Jeff Zoter asked at a Wednesday afternoon meeting about that planning study: "Has the possibility of a tunnel been eliminated from this planning?"
Massachusetts Department of Transportation project manager Patrick Snyder replied, "We have not gotten there yet."
Snyder said, "We're still sort of setting the foundation to get toward thinking about tunnels, bridges -- what we call alternatives, and our alternatives development when we come up with ideas and screen and analyze the possibility of what those might be."
"So, no," he added, clarifying, to the question of whether the question of a tunnel had been eliminated.
Zoter's question came in response to a conversation at the meeting about planning for sea level rise while designing a new bridge or tunnel that will be meant to stand well into the future.
VHB has been contracted to work with MassDOT to develop alternatives for a replacement of the bridge. VHB's Michael Regan, managing director of transportation systems, planning and operations, said the level of the Mystic River is expected to rise 2.4 feet by 2050 and 4.2 feet by 2070.
Accounting for storm surge, sea levels could rise close to 10 feet, he said.
"That's kind of a staggering number," Regan said. "It's twice what the level is now, basically."
The working group is looking at sea level rise in part to begin thinking about the height of a potential new bridge, he said. Zoter asked about a tunnel, as it would eliminate the question of whether certain vessels could fit under the bridge if waters keep rising.
Regan and Snyder both said they're starting to plan with climate change in mind and also will consider surrounding communities with rising sea levels.
"This is a holistic study," Snyder said. "We're thinking about how the bridge and infrastructure that's there, and how it ties into the surrounding community. Part of our scope of work, and what we're working on here is going to consider opportunities for climate change mitigation that can be worked into any potential new infrastructure."
The study will examine alternatives development and analysis this year, according to its online timeline, and calls for findings, recommendations and a final report in 2026.
Written by Sam Drysdale/SHNS