MBTA, Keolis to begin tie replacement project

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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MBTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Keolis Commuter Services will begin the first of several railroad tie replacement projects on the Lowell and Haverhill lines, part of a $100-million investment in infrastructure improvements for both lines that the MBTA says will increase passenger comfort and reliability.

 

Between April 13 and May 3, Keolis will begin replacing nearly 12,000 ties on the Lowell Line. Once complete, a short period of speed restrictions will be needed to enable the new trackwork to settle.

On May 4, the project shifts to the Haverhill Line, where 15,000 ties will be replaced between Reading and Haverhill through June 12.

“Many of these ties are approaching the end of their life cycle and the work is necessary,” said Keolis Commuter Services General Manager Gerald C. Francis.

This tie-replacement project is part of several projects on the Haverhill and Lowell lines, including planned repair work on the Shawsheen River Bridge in Andover, a $50-million project to install double track along portions of the Haverhill Line and the $58-million rehabilitation project on the Merrimack River Bridge between Haverhill and Bradford.

 

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