Wedgemere station
WEDGEMERE | |||||||||||||||
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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°WCoordinates: 42°26′40″N 71°08′26″W / 42.4445°N 71.1405°W | ||||||||||||||
Line(s) |
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[1] | ||||||||||||||
Traffic | |||||||||||||||
Passengers (2013) | 512 (weekday inbound average)[2] | ||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||
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Wedgemere is an MBTA Commuter Rail station 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, largely unused, is adjacent to the inbound platform. After several years of work, the station was made fully handicapped accessible in February 2013.[1]
History
Boston & Lowell
The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) opened to Lowell on June 24, 1835. Many of the present stations on the line opened soon after; however, the B&L did not open a station 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 B&L was leased to its former rival, the Boston and Maine Railroad, as its New Hampshire Main Line.[5]
Boston & Maine
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 in the new station was closed in 1960 after just three years in service; thereafter, passengers bought tickets on the train. The station building hosted a coffee shop from 2008 to 2014.[8]
MBTA era and accessibility
From the introduction of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (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.[2][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 grant that also funded construction of the John W. Olver Transit Center and repairs to the Red Line tunnels between Harvard and Alewife.[10][11] The work was then intended to be finished by the end of 2010.[10]
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.[1][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.[1] Finishing work on platform reconstruction, lighting, and landscaping lasted the spring of 2013, culminating in a reopening ceremony in June.[17]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Wedgemere Station". Transit Projects. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013.
- 1 2 "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
- ↑ Thomas J., Humphrey & Norton D., Clark (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780685412947.
- ↑ Winchester: Main St, Common (Map). 1:3000. Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. WardMaps LLC: Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1889. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- 1 2 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 229–232. ISBN 0942147022.
- ↑ Winchester (Map). WardMaps LLC: Robbins. 1898. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ↑ Winchester Plate 29 (Map). 1:3000. Atlas of Middlesex County, MA Vol. 2, 1906. WardMaps LLC: Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1906. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- 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.
- 1 2 Talbot, Gary (February 12, 2010). "Rail Accessibility A Win in Winchester". MassDOT Blog. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- 1 2 Laidler, John (February 21, 2010). "MBTA to enhance access for disabled". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ↑ "All Fed Stimulus Highway Funds Obligated". MassDOT Blog (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. February 10, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ↑ Knight, Ellen (March 14, 2011). "One step closer to ADA improvements at Wedgemere". Daily Times Chronicle. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ↑ Mullan, Jeffery B. & Davey, Richard A. (April 11, 2011). "Notice to Bidders" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ↑ "Awarded Contract: D36CN01: Wedgemere Station Accessibility Improvements, ARRA FUNDED". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ↑ Knight, Ellen (September 5, 2012). "Work on ramps at Wedgemere comes to halt". Daily Times Chronicle. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ↑ MacDonald, Evan (November 13, 2012). "Wedgemere station project may finish by January". Wicked Local Winchester. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Wedgemere station is now fully accessible". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
External links
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