Description of Services
This project involved the construction of the Chelsea Street Bridge, a 450-foot-long, 225-foot-tall vertical lift bridge replacing an aging through-truss drawbridge in Boston, Massachusetts. The previous structure, which provided only 95 feet of channel clearance, was functionally obsolete and inadequate for modern tanker traffic using the navigational channel.
The new design extended the lift span to 450 feet, allowing the lift towers to be placed entirely on land. This not only improved navigational clearance but also enabled the existing bridge to remain in service during a significant portion of the new bridge’s construction, minimizing disruption to vehicular traffic.
Principal Engineer, Sena Kumarasena, Ph.D., P.E., served as Project Manager and Lead Engineer for pre-construction preparation and construction-phase engineering services, beginning in 2006 (the original design had been completed by others in 2002). During construction, Sena led a comprehensive in-house review of the original design, identifying and implementing numerous critical revisions to improve constructability, durability, and performance. He worked closely with the contractor, the City of Boston Department of Public Works, and MassDOT to incorporate these changes, manage associated schedule and cost impacts, and ensure the successful delivery of this complex infrastructure project.
