Grand Junction Railroad Bridge
The Grand Junction Railroad Bridge is a steel plate girder bridge carrying the Grand Junction Railroad over the Charles River in Boston, connecting the Boston University campus to Cambridgeport. In September 2009, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts finalized an agreement to purchase several CSX rail lines in eastern Massachusetts, including the Grand Junction tracks from the Beacon Park Yard in Allston, through Cambridge. The deal was closed on June 17, 2010.
On November 21, 2012, the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge was closed to all rail traffic due to its poor condition. This was a change from a restriction put in place days earlier, on November 16, which barred freight trains from crossing, as well as restricting MBTA and Amtrak equipment moves to 5 MPH. While emergency repairs were under way, trains moving between the north and south sides of Boston had to be routed via Pan Am Railways trackage between Ayer, Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts. The bridge reopened in early January 2013, but was closed again in March for major structural repairs, reopening again in June.
