Route 18 buses to resume use of bridge September 25

The bridge that carries Dorchester Avenue over the southeast expressway into South Boston — closed for two years to allow for a full replacement of the span– will re-open on Monday, Sept. 23 at 4 a.m.

The $34.5 million project “entailed a full replacement of the bridge, Red Line tunnel roof, and the rehabilitation of the Von Hillern Street retaining wall to maintain its structural integrity,” according to the MBTA, which announced the news on Wednesday.

Once its re-opened, the T’s Route 18 bus will revert back to its typical routing via Dorchester Avenue between Columbia Road and Andrew station starting on Sept. 25. No routing changes are planned for the segment of Route 18 between Ashmont station and Columbia Road at this time, according to the T.

“We know how important Dorchester Avenue is to the community and I’m proud of the MBTA team that made this a priority and got it done,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng in a statement. “This new bridge enhances safety for all that use it and ensures safety of the Red Line and Commuter Rail below. This is another important step forward as we rebuild our infrastructure to give the public we serve a safe, reliable transportation system that they deserve.”

The bridge that was replaced dated to 1925 and had been rehabbed once before, in 1975.

"The Dorchester Avenue Bridge Replacement Project is an example of the MBTA delivering on major projects which benefit all members of the traveling public,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “We have a leadership team and workforce at the MBTA who have been successfully completing projects that are part of our core infrastructure and our public transportation system is getting rebuilt so that it is safer for all users.”