by Jacob A. Bennett

Representatives from the state and the contractor answered questions about repairs to the Lowell Street Bridge April 13 at the community meeting.

"Before we start, I’d like to stop for a moment of silence for Senator Shannon," State Rep. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville.

The construction of two replacement bridges at the Lowell Street crossings over two railroad tracks had been one of the projects of the late Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. had worked on with Jehlen, and the meeting was scheduled before Shannon’s death April 5.

Jehlen said Shannon would have wanted the meeting to go forward, so she led the proceedings in his place.

Jehlen thanked Ernest Monroe and Harry Thompson III from MassHighway and Joseph Gioioso from the construction firm P. Gioioso & Sons for coming to the neighborhood to update the community and answer questions.

Jehlen also recognized other officials for attending the meeting held in the community room of the Visiting Nurse Association facility at 259 Lowell St., including DPW Commissioner Stanley Koty, Aldermen-at-large Denise M. Provost and William A. White Jr. and Ward 5 Alderman Sean T. O’Donovan.

Jehlen then handed the meeting over to the presenters.

"First, let me apologize in advance for my engineer’s answers. I’ll try to use layman’s terms as much as possible," said Monroe.

He asked that everyone look through the question-and-answer handout, and speak up about anything that needed to be clarified.

In the actual construction, Monroe said the first step would be to erect a temporary pedestrian access for crossing over the MBTA and Boston/Maine train tracks below.

"I expect this to happen in the next week or two. We will be using an ACROW panel structure," he said.

Although there will be times when the pedestrian crossing will be off limits for safety reasons, it will be accessible most of the time, he said. "Basically, anytime we’ve got beams or concrete overhead, it will be shut down. It may be for ten minutes or an hour, but it will open again."

There are two crossings at the site, and the northernmost will be the first to undergo rehabilitation. This is due to a drainage channel along the abutment of the northern crossing, which makes the reconstruction more complicated, he said.

The contractor followed Thompson.

"First, let me say that this project is getting under way none too soon," said Gioioso.

"We transported some equipment over the bridge and there were literally chunks of concrete falling underneath. That said, it makes sense to begin with the bigger project first in order to get as much work in before Dec. 15, the traditional date for the end of construction projects," he said.

Concerns about the safety of people passing underneath the site were addressed next. It remained unclear whether MassHighway has the jurisdiction to put fencing up in the vicinity of the tracks, as that area is the property of the MBTA and Boston & Maine railroads.

This ownership issue also affects the timing of actual construction, as one of the tracks is active during the daytime hours. "I can tell you from past experience that there will be some nighttime work to accommodate the schedule of the Boston and Maine line. We will try to minimize it, but that’s just reality," said Monroe.

"When the Dec. 15 stop date comes around, and snow piles up on the pedestrian bridge, whose responsibility is it to clear a path?" asked Adam Knight, a staffer in Shannon’s office.

"That’s our responsibility that was part of the original proposal," Gioioso said with a smile.