MBTA wins nearly half a billion dollars to replace North Station drawbridge

The MBTA has won a nearly half-billion-dollar federal grant to completely replace the bridge that carries trains north from Boston through North Station, officials announced Monday.

The more than $472 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will replace North Station’s nearly century-old Draw One Bridge.

It is the largest federal award ever won by the transportation agency, Gov. Maura Healey’s office said.

“As someone who often commutes from Boston’s North End, I know firsthand what a difference this bridge replacement will make,” Lt. Gov. and former Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said in a statement. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration and the MBTA, riders will enjoy faster, safer, and more reliable rides to and from North Station.”

An MBTA spokesperson said the National Infrastructure Project Assistance grant fully funds the bridge replacement, while other elements of the project will be funded through the MBTA’s future capital improvement plans.

The drawbridge, which spans the Charles River and connects Boston and Cambridge, is currently used by Amtrak trains and the Haverhill, Lowell, Newburyport/Rockport and Fitchburg commuter rail lines on two four-track, movable spans. More than 11 million passengers use the bridge each year, officials said.

Lawmakers: ‘Bridge failure is becoming more and more likely’

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and other members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation supported the grant request in an April letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. They said the bridge’s failure was “becoming increasingly likely.”

“The MBTA’s transit system will not tolerate the failure of this bridge: heavy rail and bus service in the project area does not have the capacity to accommodate modal shifts for the more than 10.67 million passengers per year who will be impacted by the bridge’s failure,” the letter states. “This project is the MBTA’s most urgent and comprehensive funding priority and is critical to our constituents, especially those who rely on transit.”

The bridge will be completely replaced and modernized, Healey’s office said, improving safety and service. The new bridge will have an additional travel span over the current bridge and additional lanes, according to the project website. The project is now in its design phase.

The project will also replace a control tower, extend the bridge platform, connect tracks 11 and 12 to the existing network, improve stations and modernize general infrastructure, officials said.

The replacement is also expected to create more than 14,500 jobs in the region.

The state had already secured a major grant to replace dilapidated bridges on Cape Cod. Healey announced a $1 billion grant in July to replace the Sagamore Bridge.