Wedgemere (MBTA station)

WEDGEMERE

Wedgemere station in June 2013
Location 25 Mystic Valley Parkway
Winchester, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°26′40″N 71°08′26″W / 42.4445°N 71.1405°W / 42.4445; -71.1405Coordinates: 42°26′40″N 71°08′26″W / 42.4445°N 71.1405°W / 42.4445; -71.1405
Line(s)
  Lowell Line
  Haverhill Line (limited service)
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking 103 spaces (town permit required)
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 1
History
Opened Early 1850s
Rebuilt 1957; February 1, 2013
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 512 (weekday inbound average)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Lowell Line
toward Lowell
Haverhill Line
limited service
toward Haverhill

Wedgemere is a passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line located in the southeast portion of Winchester, Massachusetts. Wedgemere is served by most Lowell Line trains except for several expresses, as well as a small number of Haverhill Line trains which run via the Wildcat Branch. The station consists of two platforms serving the line's two tracks on an elevated grade. The 1957-built station building, now a coffee shop, is adjacent to the inbound platform. After several years of work, the station was made fully handicapped accessible in February 2013.[2]

History

Boston & Lowell

Wedgemere station around 1910

The Boston and Lowell Railroad opened to Lowell on June 24, 1835. Many of the present stations on the line opened soon after; however, a station did not open at Bacon Street in southern Winchester until the early 1850s.[3] The station, located near a bridge over the Aberjona River, was variously known as Mystic, Bacons Bridge, and Symmes Bridge (the latter after a nearby landowner).[4][5] After 1887, the Boston & Lowell was leased to its former rival, the Boston and Maine Railroad, as its New Hampshire Main Line.[5]

Boston & Maine

The 1957-built station hosted a coffee shop for 6 years

By the end of the 19th century, the station was known by its modern name, Wedgemere, after the surrounding neighborhood, and had a small station building on the east (outbound) side of the tracks.[6] In the early 1900s, the B&M built a larger station building with an extended canopy on the west side of the tracks, which served for the next half-century.[7] In 1955, the B&M began a project to raise the tracks of the New Hampshire Main and the southern end of the Woburn Branch for a mile through Winchester, eliminating a troublesome grade crossing downtown. Boxy two-story brick stations opened at Wedgemere and Winchester Center in 1957.[8] The ticket office was closed in 1960, and the station building hosted a coffee shop from 2008 until 2014.[8]

MBTA era and accessibility

Construction work in February 2012

From the introduction of MBTA funding in 1965 until the mid-2000s, Wedgemere station remained essentially static. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 required transit agencies to make certain stations handicapped accessible. A number of high-ridership stations on the MBTA Commuter Rail system were upgraded, but due to its relatively low ridership - less than 600 riders per day as of 2009 - Wedgemere was not chosen as a key station for upgrades.[1][9] Wedgemere had older low-level platforms, and access from the street was via stairs only. Beginning in 2008, a local family lobbied the MBTA to make the station accessible; in July 2009, the Federal Transit Administration granted the MBTA permission to build mini-high platforms.[9] (Full-length high level platforms would not have been possible because the Lowell Line is a designated freight corridor; full-length platforms cause operational difficulties with freight trains. Wedgemere does not have room for a dedicated freight passing track like Anderson RTC.) In February 2010, the MBTA announced that $2 million in federal stimulus funds had been allotted to the project, part of a $6.3 million grant that also funded repairs to the Red Line tunnels between Harvard and Alewife.[10][11] The work was the intended to be finished by the end of 2010.[10]

Completed mini-high platforms in January 2013

After delays due to concerns over nearby wetlands and the appearance of the ramps from street level, the Town of Winchester granted approval in March 2011.[12] In April 2011, the MBTA began soliciting bids for the primary construction work on the station, worth $1.525 million. The scope of work included construction of the mini-high platforms and ramps from street level, as well as adding lighting, rehabilitating the low level platforms, and creating accessible parking spaces.[13] After bids came in higher than expected, a $2.503 million contract was awarded in July 2011 with notice to proceed in August.[2][14]

Construction was to be completed in mid-September 2011 ahead of the October deadline for stimulus funds, but a problem with town permitting in early September delayed the completion of the project.[15] Construction resumed in November.[16] The mini-high platforms, ramps, and new parking spaces opened on February 1, 2013, making the station fully handicapped accessible.[2] Finishing work on platform reconstruction, lighting, and landscaping lasted the spring of 2013, culminating in a reopening ceremony in June.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Wedgemere Station". Transit Projects. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. ↑ Winchester: Main St, Common (Map). 1:3000. Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. WardMaps LLC: Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1889. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 229–232. ISBN 0942147022.
  6. ↑ Winchester (Map). WardMaps LLC: Robbins. 1898. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Winchester Plate 29 (Map). 1:3000. Atlas of Middlesex County, MA Vol. 2, 1906. WardMaps LLC: Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1906. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  8. 1 2 Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 260. ISBN 9780942147087.
  9. 1 2 Talbot, Gary (12 February 2010). "Rail Accessibility A Win in Winchester". Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  10. 1 2 Laidler, John (21 February 2010). "MBTA to enhance access for disabled". Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Award Summary: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority". Where is the Money Going?. Recovery.gov. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  12. ↑ Knight, Ellen (14 March 2011). "One step closer to ADA improvements at Wedgemere". Daily Times Chronicle. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  13. ↑ Mullan, Jeffery B. & Davey, Richard A. (11 April 2011). "Notice to Bidders" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Awarded Contract: D36CN01: Wedgemere Station Accessibility Improvements, ARRA FUNDED". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  15. ↑ Knight, Ellen (5 September 2012). "Work on ramps at Wedgemere comes to halt". Daily Times Chronicle. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  16. ↑ MacDonald, Evan (13 November 2012). "Wedgemere station project may finish by January". Wicked Local Winchester. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "Wedgemere station is now fully accessible". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
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