WESTWOOD, Mass. — A low-clearance bridge in Westwood that’s well known for its caught-on-camera truck crashes is about to gain some height this weekend.
East Street in Westwood will close to traffic Friday, Nov. 9, at 9 a.m. so the East Street Bridge can be raised to create a new clearance of 13 feet, 6 inches.
The crashes are so memorable and frequent that Westwood Police made a low-light reel on YouTube to show just how dangerous it is.
Over the last several years, the 10 foot, 4-inch clearance under the bridge ended up being too short for a fire truck, numerous box trucks and one truck filled with lobsters that caught fire. That dark day for seafood was dubbed "Lobsterpocolypse."
The lack of width even caused a gasp-inducing head-on crash caught on camera in 2014.
Along with raising the clearance under the bridge, the MBTA’s East Bridge Rehabilitation Project also increases the width of the road, making the new total clearance across of 32 feet, with 5 feet for sidewalks.
East Street will be closed all weekend and the commuter rail will be impacted with shuttle service on the Franklin line, but come Monday crews expect the road and the rail to be back to new, safer normal.
Related stories:
- Truck carrying lobsters gets stuck under bridge, suspends commuter rail service
- Head-on crash marks 3rd incident in as many days at East St bridge
Weekend MBTA impacts
- East Street will be closed beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, with a traffic detour in place.
- Franklin Line train service will be replaced with shuttle bus service in both directions between Norwood Central and Dedham Corporate stations beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, and in both directions from Forge Park to Dedham Corporate stations on Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11.
- Regular train service is expected to resume at the start of service on Monday, Nov. 12, with regular vehicle access to East Street scheduled on Monday morning as well.
Check mbta.com or @MBTA and @MBTA_CR for the latest information.