$472MM Awarded to Replace North Station Draw One Bridge

North Station Draw One Bridge

Courtesy of MBTA

BOSTON - $472 million was awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation to replace the North Station Draw One Bridge.

The $472,300,616 grant comes from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program (MEGA) as part of the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program. As of reporting, this is the largest federal award for the MBTA.

The Draw One is a drawbridge that dates back to the era of the Great Depression. It crosses the Charles River and connects Boston with Cambridge. 11,250,000 passengers travel the bridge by way of Amtrak trains and MBTA Commuter Rail. MBTA’s Haverhill, Lowell, Newburyport/Rockport, and Fitchburg Commuter Rail Lines use the bridge.

Crews will replace and modernize the drawbridge as well as replace a control tower, extend the bridge platform, and make various track, signal, and communications improvements. Crews will also complete a connection of tracks 11 and 12 to the existing network. Below is a video from the MBTA summarizing the North Station Draw One Bridge and its replacement:

“I’m proud of the MBTA team that worked diligently to put this project in a strong position to win this highly competitive federal award. I thank the USDOT Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg, and our partners at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool, FTA Region 1 Administrator Pete Butler, and their entire team, for this incredible award allowing us to deliver the North Station Draw 1 project, freeing up state capital dollars for other essential needs,” said MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng. “This award continues to demonstrate our aggressive approach to pursuing all funding opportunities under the lead of the Healey-Driscoll Administration as we pursue every available federal grant. Our Grants and North Station Drawbridge teams deserve all the credit for their exceptional work to secure this funding which allows us to ensure the efficient and reliable movement of all North Station train lines while greatly improving our ability to provide more frequent, regional rail-style service across the entire northside corridor to serve future generations to come.” 

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said, “North Station Draw One is a connection point between Boston and Cambridge, and the many cities and towns north who rely on this train bridge to visit and work in our city. . . Thanks to the leadership of our federal delegation and the Healey-Driscoll administration in securing this funding, the Greater Boston area will see benefits from updated infrastructure and more reliable transportation. This funding for a bridge replacement represents our region’s commitment to our local economy and green transit.”