HAVERHILL — If you were passing the railroad bridge that crosses the Merrimack River yesterday and thought you saw people dangling from ropes beneath the bridge, your eyes were not deceiving you.
A group of daring workers hired by the MBTA, which operates the commuter rail system for the state, are in Haverhill this week to gauge the condition of the steel structure. As part of their review, they hang from ropes so they can look at parts of the bridge they otherwise could not get close enough to see.
Some of the work may raise a few eyebrows, said MBTA spokesman Joseph Pesaturo, especially when workers hang precariously in midair above the river.
"Inspectors will be rappelling in rope harnesses to look at the sides and underneath the railroad bridge beams," Pesaturo said.
Tap Restaurant general manager Sharon Cohen took a few moments out of her busy afternoon yesterday to see what was happening at the bridge. She said many of her patrons who were having lunch on the back deck overlooking the river were entertained by the bridge inspectors who were hanging from ropes.
"It's not a job I'd want to do," Cohen said.
Structural engineers with HDR Engineering Inc. are checking the condition of the bridge's steel beams, its riveted connections and the condition of its granite support and abutments — checking for cracked stone and loose mortar joints. To minimize disruptions in commuter rail service, the work is taking place after and before rush-hour train traffic.
Pesaturo said the work includes a visual inspection of all the steel bridge infrastructure in anticipation of determining what will be needed to repair it.
Repairs to the railroad bridge are expected to exceed $8 million and take four years to complete. State transportation officials have said the bridge will be kept open at all times during the project so riders will not lose their downtown train stop on the north side of the river.
The inspection is one part of a larger project that includes modifications to the railroad track signaling system between Haverhill and Andover to allow trains to run in either direction on either set of tracks during the planned repairs to the bridge, MBTA officials said.
In order for workers to inspect the train bridge that passes over Washington Street at the west end of downtown, they temporarily removed pigeon netting under the bridge. The netting was replaced after inspections yesterday and after inspections taking place today. The netting keeps birds from sitting under the bridge and dropping messes on people walking below.
Pesaturo said the first bridge inspection crew will inspect the steel railroad bridge, near the Comeau Bridge, by means of rope access techniques, including climbing and rappelling off the side of the bridge — where they can be seen hanging above the river.
A second crew will inspect the north approach spans by standard inspection techniques, including the use of ladders. A third crew will inspect the Washington Street Bridge by standard inspection techniques, including the use of ladders and a lift truck. A lift truck was to be used yesterday and today to access the underside of the Washington Street Bridge.
The Haverhill bridge, built in 1919, is the only one in the MBTA train system with a design similar to the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis last summer. Within days of the Minneapolis disaster that left 13 people dead and dozens injured, new rules were placed on trains that carry hundreds of commuters daily over Haverhill's deteriorating railroad bridge.
The bridge connects the downtown Haverhill commuter station with the city's Bradford station on the south side of the river.
The MBTA owns more than 300 bridges, but only the Haverhill bridge is of the same design as the Minneapolis span that collapsed, state transportation officials have said.
Freight trains, commuter trains and Amtrak's Downeaster use the bridge to cross the Merrimack River on a daily basis.
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Inspecting the Merrimack River and Washington Street train bridges
When: This week, ending Saturday.
Who is doing the work: Structural engineers with HDR Engineering Inc., under contract with the MBTA.
What are they looking for: The condition of the steel structure, riveted connections as well as the condition of the granite support and abutments — checking for cracked stone and loose mortar joints.
The purpose: To determine what will be needed to repair both structures.
