The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) announced today that preparation work has begun for the next phase of painting on the Tobin Memorial Bridge from the lower level at the Little Mystic Pier in Charlestown to the toll plaza area. Painting on the lower level will not require any closures of traffic lanes. This phase of the painting project was originally intended to include portions of the upper level roadway but Massport amended the project scope to include only the lower level to lessen the impact on the heavier-than-normal volumes of traffic crossing the Bridge as a result of the I-90 Connector Tunnel closure. Work will take place Monday through Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through November 15, at which time the project will end for the winter and begin again in March 2007.

This painting project launches phase seven of Massport's nine phase painting project begun in 1992. The on-going painting process is necessary to protect the steel structure from corrosive effects of New England winters and ocean salt and insure the integrity of the bridge. This project is a continuation of Massport's initiative to rid the bridge of lead paint.

To protect Charlestown residents and to minimize noise and inconvenience, construction workers will communicate via two-way radios, and also use low noise-level construction equipment. As with the previous phases, regular on-site environmental testing of air quality and particulate emissions will take place.

"Massport utilizes an environmentally-friendly abrasive cleaning system and lead-free paint for the protection and safety of our neighbors and the bridge," said Mary Jane O'Meara, Massport's director of the Tobin Bridge. Massport will also construct a containment area to capture paint chips and other material related to the project.

The containment area is a tightly-sealed, negative-pressure, vacuum space where workers use an abrasive cleaning agent which is recaptured, processsed and reused in the encapsulated area. Paint chips are contained from the time they come off the steel to the time they are sealed in containers to ensure public and environmental protection.

Massport's procedures for this phase-seven painting project include a stringent set of controls based on guidelines from the Society of Protective Coatings, considered the industry standard for the protection of public health and the environment.

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