The Craigie Drawbridge closure caused headaches for commuters trying to get to Boston on Route 28 South on Monday morning. - Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

Fallout from Craigie Bridge closure could impact Somerville

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Commuters headed down McGrath Highway toward Boston this week are finding they can only go so far on Route 28. And hassles for Boston-bound commuters could soon turn into headaches for Somerville residents.

The Craigie Drawbridge over the Charles River, which connects Boston and Cambridge next to the Museum of Science, was partially closed for construction as of Saturday. Boston-bound drivers not headed to the museum itself are being forced to turn either left over the Gilmore Bridge toward Charlestown, or right onto Edwin H. Land Boulevard connecting to Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

As of Monday morning’s rush hour, it was the commuters who were still feeling most of the pain from the bridge closure. Many southbound drivers appeared to have heeded signs telling them to avoid Route 28 and stick to the main highway, which made for an even slower- than-average commute into Boston on I-93.

Near the bridge, horns were blaring as confused drivers tried to pick turning lanes. And there was a steady stream of cars who managed to get all the way to the Museum before having to make a U-turn back to the detour intersection.

With the detour point only 2,700 feet from the Somerville city line, local police are preparing for what happens when commuters decide they’re not going to make the same mistake twice, and they start to get creative.

“Our concern all along has been that people will lose patience and start seeking alternate routes through Somerville that will take them on to neighborhood streets,” said Somerville Deputy Police Chief Paul Upton.

The Craigie Drawbridge was closed to Boston-bound traffic as of November 6, due to reconstruction work. ~Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

He said a half dozen major commuter arteries pass through Cambridge and Somerville headed to the five street-level bridges that cross the Charles into downtown Boston. The state transportation department (MassDOT) estimates more than 42,000 cars a day travel down McGrath Highway alone, and local police say the actual number is probably higher.

Upton said it doesn’t take a traffic engineer to figure out that taking one of those bridges out of commission for repairs could soon have a cascading effect into Somerville. “If you take all the traffic that’s coming down McGrath Highway in the morning toward Boston, and try to funnel it through fewer options, it’s going to cause congestion here,” said Upton.

And the challenge won’t exactly be short-lived. According to Mass DOT, the current phase of the Craigie Bridge reconstruction will last at least four weeks, when traffic headed into Boston (but not outbound traffic) will remain blocked.

That will be followed by a period from December to February when limited traffic will flow in each direction. During the final phase, for two to three months next winter and spring, there will again be no Boston-bound traffic on the bridge. Work on the bridge will proceed seven days a week for 24 hours a day, apart from 10 hours on Thanksgiving and 10 hours on Christmas Day.

Police hope that commuters will look for alternatives that reduce the volume of traffic, like public transportation or carpooling, and they are encouraging employers to provide flexible work hours or telecommuting options for their workers. But Upton said they’ve been planning for things to get worse before they get better.

The Somerville Police Department is coordinating its response with Boston, Cambridge, State and Transit police. MassDOT is funding extra police details throughout Somerville while the bridge is closed, including a full-time detail at Broadway and Mt. Vernon, near the Sullivan Square exit ramp off I-93, and at five other sites during the morning rush hour.

Upton said it will take at least another week for Somerville police to fully assess how the bridge shutdown is impacting the city. But their goal for now is clear. “Our priority is to prevent gridlock in Somerville and keep the commuters on the commuter routes,” said Upton.