State transportation officials have unveiled new plans for a Morton Street Bridge repair project that will include the removal of a long-unused and derelict police station that has become a major blight in Morton Village.

The $10 million project is part of the state’s Accelerated Bridge Program and calls for the demolition of the vacant police station located at 872 Morton St., which will be used as a staging ground while the new bridge deck is constructed. The project will also add new lighting and traffic barriers on the northern side of the bridge to protect pedestrian walkways.

Mass DOT spokesman Michael Verseckes said the project would have moved forward sooner but for the fact that the police station is located on city-owned land and created legal hurdles that stalled the project until city and state officials could develop a lease arrangement.

Verseckes said the project will be advertised for potential contractors as early as next month, followed by a six-month procurement process before demolition of the police station. A construction phase would then follow in which the station’s former site will be used as a staging ground. Once the new bridge deck has been assembled, the busy thoroughfare will be shut down to traffic for three to ten days while the deck is hoisted into place. This final, most disruptive phase of the bridge replacement is not likely to take place now until 2013.

District 4 City Councilor Charles Yancey said that while the revamp would benefit the neighborhood in the long term, the traffic shutdown is still a cause for concern.

“That doesn’t mean [the project] is going to be flawless. I think it’s going to be far from it,” Yancey said, citing a potential for major congestion around Codman Square and other nearby intersections. “But I’d prefer to get this done in 10 days over 3 years and I’m glad the state and city came together and worked in good faith to make this happen.”

Although the active Fairmount commuter rail tracks that run underneath the bridge will make the project more challenging than other bridge rehabilitations recently undertaken by the state, Verseckes said an incentive program will reward contractors for completing work early and would levy “significant” payment reductions if the project is completed late.

The bridge closure is planned to take place during a school holiday in order to avoid lengthy detours for school busses. However state Rep. Russell Holmes said efforts must be made to ensure emergency service response times are not hindered while the new bridge deck is hoisted into place.

“The state has allocated $70,000 dollars for emergency vehicles [to be posted on both sides of the bridge,] but we still need to work with the police, EMS, and the fire department to ensure those resources are employed,” Holmes said.

Holmes also added that he was “ecstatic” to learn the police station site would be cleared and re-sodded after work is completed. Holmes said the state is taking “the strictest amount of adherence to contaminant and rodent control that the city allows” to avoid any fallout from the demolition process. Holmes said he will work to ensure that the project creates jobs for residents within the community.
Prior to the bridge rehabilitation project, the Morton Street police station was last considered for demolition in 2004, when a developer briefly proposed building a set of condominiums. Yancey said he did not have any immediate plans for the parcel, but wants to hear ideas for future use from his constituents.

“I think there is an opportunity for the community to weigh in and propose some alternate uses,” Yancey said. “It’s something I will be encouraging. We’re at least two years away, but that gives us plenty of time to really consider what can be done with that parcel.”