South Coast Rail work to take place throughout the area, disruption expected

MassDOT’s contractor will perform the following early action construction work on the South Coast Rail project:

Culvert Replacements

Location of work:

RA-1 and TA-4 culvert locations on the Middleborough Secondary in Raynham and Taunton, respectively; and FRN-12 and NB-3 culvert locations on the New Bedford Main Line in Freetown and New Bedford, respectively.

The RA-1 culvert, located between the Church Street bridge in Raynham and the Middleborough Avenue bridge in Taunton, will be replaced.

The TA-4 culvert, located between the Old Colony Avenue grade crossing in Taunton and the Church Street bridge in Raynham, will be replaced.

The FRN-12 culvert, located between the Chipaway Road grade crossing in Freetown and the Samuel Barnet Boulevard grade crossing in New Bedford, will be replaced.

The track in the vicinity of the NB-3 culvert, located between the Samuel Barnet Boulevard grade crossing and the Route 140 bridges in New Bedford, will be raised.
See a map of culvert locations along the Phase 1 corridor.

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, New Bedford, Raynham and Taunton.

Date/time of work:

Wednesday, September 25, from 7:00 AM to midnight.
24 hours per day from 6:00 AM on Thursday, September 26, through midnight on Monday night, September 30.

Work zone access during 24-hour-per-day period:

Primary construction access, material and construction staging, and employee parking locations for track work, by location:

For culverts RA-1 and TA-4: At the contractor’s laydown area near the Middleborough Avenue grade crossing in Taunton, with secondary access from the Old Colony Avenue grade crossing in Taunton and at the North Precinct Street grade crossing in Lakeville.

For culvert FRN-12: At the contractor’s laydown area near the Chace Road grade crossing in Freetown, with secondary access from the Braley Road and Chipaway Road grade crossings in Freetown and from the Samuel Barnet Boulevard grade crossing in New Bedford.

For NB-3 track work: At the contractor’s laydown area near 781 Church Street in New Bedford, with additional access from the Samuel Barnet Boulevard grade crossing.

Construction equipment is expected to utilize all of these grade crossings throughout the construction periods. 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

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.