MassDOT, MBTA warn public of Fall River, Freetown, Taunton, New Bedford South Coast Rail work

MassDOT has issued an update on the work taking place on South Coast Rail and the issues that it may cause. The contractor will perform the following early action construction work:

Culvert Replacements & Track Work

Location of work: BK-2, FR-6, FRN-17, FRN-18, FRN-21 and NB-3 culvert locations on the Fall River Secondary and New Bedford Main Line in Berkley, Fall River, Freetown, and New Bedford, respectively. See a map of culvert locations along the Phase 1 corridor.

The BK-2 culvert, located between the Route 24 overhead bridges in Taunton and the Cotley Street grade crossing in Berkley, was replaced during the work that began October 3. Clean-up activities will continue at this location.

The FR-6 culvert, located between Fall River Country Club and the Clark Street overhead bridge in Fall River, is scheduled to be replaced next week. Preparation activities will be performed.

The track profile in the vicinity of the FRN-17 and FRN-18 culverts, located between the northerly Richmond Road and northerly Forge Road grade crossings in Freetown, is scheduled to be raised next week. Preparation activities will be performed
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The FRN-21 culvert, located between the Elm Street and High Street grade crossings in Freetown, is scheduled to be replaced next week. Preparation activities will be performed.
The NB-3 culvert, located between the Samuel Barnet Boulevard grade crossing and the Route 140 overhead bridges in New Bedford, was replaced during the work that began October 3. Track restoration and clean-up activities will continue at this location.

Additional work will also be performed throughout the South Coast Rail Phase 1 Corridor on the New Bedford Main Line, Fall River Secondary, and Middleborough Secondary in the communities of Berkley, Fall River, Freetown, Lakeville, Middleborough, New Bedford, Raynham and Taunton.

Date/time of work:
Wednesday, October 9, from 5:00 AM to midnight
Thursday, October 10, and Friday, October 11, from 7:00 AM to midnight each day
Tuesday, October 15, from 7:00 AM to midnight

Work zone access: Primary construction access, material and construction staging, and employee parking locations will be primarily located at the contractor’s laydown areas near the Chace Road grade crossing, near 181 South Main Street, and at the Elm Street grade crossing in Freetown, and near 781 Church Street in New Bedford. Secondary construction staging and access will be via rail from the Myricks, Cotley and Padelford Street grade crossings in Berkley. Equipment is expected to utilize these grade crossings and also the grade crossings at Mill Street and Adams Street in Berkley; Beechwood Road, northerly and southerly Richmond Road, northerly and southerly Forge Road, High Street, and Copicut Road in Freetown; and Samuel Barnet Boulevard in New Bedford throughout the construction period. All access to the culvert sites will be via rail and all work will be performed on the railroad corridor.

This work will be disruptive to local residents. Crews will be using various pieces of heavy equipment and trucks along the railroad right-of-way throughout the construction period. While the project will seek to minimize construction-related impacts to communities, noise will be generated and work lights will be used along the right-of-way.

Tarkiln Hill Road Grade Crossing Improvements

Location of work: Tarkiln Hill Road grade crossing in New Bedford

Date/time of work: Weekdays between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM, excluding October 14
Vehicular and pedestrian access will be maintained through all roadway work zones and access to local businesses will not be impacted.

Work on the Culvert Replacement Project and in the vicinity of the Tarkiln Hill Road Grade Crossing is anticipated to be completed by January 2020.

If you would like to report a noise issue, call the hotline at (508) 397-4858. The noise hotline is for the reporting of construction-related noise issues. It will be answered Monday-Friday, between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM (except holidays). All voicemails left outside of these hours will be received the following weekday.