MassDOT expects the barriers between Belgrade Avenue and the Holy Name rotary to come down in December, and the Belgrade Avenue detour ends with them. Its schedule keeps the project open until summer 2027. Before the reopening, MassDOT has slotted a full-depth rebuild of the Belgrade Avenue intersection, with continuous day and night work, into the closure. After the reopening come a winter pause and a spring of landscaping and finishing. A repaving stretch toward Beech Street, with its own detour, has no set time.
The crossing that reopens will carry more traffic, more safely, than the one that closed in July. The work at this end of Centre Street is still going for months after that.
The Bridge That Reopens Is Wider Than the One That Closed
The span carries West Roxbury Parkway over the MBTA Needham commuter rail line. MassDOT closed it to all vehicles and pedestrians in mid-July and sent everyone around on Belgrade Avenue. MassDOT's traffic and construction updates page still lists the closure as running "until December 2026." MassDOT's project record calls the structure the Arthur J. Lewis Bridge. The plan is to replace the superstructure and rehabilitate what sits beneath it using accelerated bridge construction.
The baseline is the most important detail. Before the closure, the old bridge had deteriorated enough that it was down to one lane in each direction, according to MassDOT's June 25, 2026 public meeting presentation. So the bridge that reopens isn't just going back to how things were in June. It goes back to a configuration this crossing hadn't had for some time.
According to the same presentation, the finished bridge includes:
- A restored third travel lane across the bridge
- New 5-foot sidewalks
- Separated bike lanes
- New traffic signals at the Belgrade Avenue intersection
- New cameras at Belgrade so the Boston Transportation Department can coordinate signal timing across the area
The contract went to MIG Corporation at a bid price of $8,975,553.50, under MassDOT project file 606902.
Where the New Bike Lanes Pick Up, and Where They Stop
The bike lanes link to work Centre Street already went through. The City of Boston finished its Centre Street safety redesign between Lagrange Street and West Roxbury Parkway in 2023. Its May 2024 post-construction report found that speeding at 30 mph or more had dropped by more than 75%. Daytime travel times along the corridor went up by about a minute.
The bridge project picks up where that redesign leaves off at the southern end. As Universal Hub reported in July, the new lanes carry the Centre Street bike lanes forward "a block or so" and then end, since the parkway south of the work area has no bike lanes. Anyone riding toward Belgrade will get protected space across the bridge itself. Past that, it's back to mixed traffic.
The Belgrade Avenue Rebuild Lands Inside the Closure
MassDOT plans full-depth roadway reconstruction at the intersection of Belgrade Avenue and West Roxbury Parkway, and the presentation places it "during the bridge closure," with the exact date listed as "TBD." It describes the work as continuous daytime and nighttime work, with traffic detoured and muted backup alarms on the equipment. MassDOT says it will send a separate advisory closer to the date.
The repaving is a separate stage. Universal Hub's July report said the project also covers repaving West Roxbury Parkway between the bridge and Beech Street/Anawan Avenue. While that happens, traffic heading to or from Roslindale on Belgrade will be sent around via Beech and Anawan, which amounts to a detour off the detour. At that point MassDOT hadn't picked a time for it.
In June, MassDOT said the project was "one year into a two-year total construction duration." The rest of the schedule in the presentation goes like this:
- Summer 2026: full bridge closure begins.
- Winter 2026: full bridge closure ends.
- Winter 2026/2027: construction pauses for the winter.
- Spring 2027: landscaping and finishing work.
- Summer 2027: project complete.
On that timeline, the Belgrade intersection reconstruction is grouped with the end of the closure. With the closure expected to wrap up in December, that leaves a short window for continuous day and night work at Belgrade in the weeks before reopening. The finishing work comes back in spring, after the winter pause.
Who to Call While Crews Work Long Days
Right now the contractor is on site from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week, doing form work and concrete placements on the roadway and under the bridge. That's according to MassDOT's look-ahead for October 23 through November 5. The June presentation said night work was expected during the closure. It allowed overnight shifts from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. as needed, and 24-hour work when required.
Neighbors living closest to the Belgrade intersection have a few direct lines:
- Noise complaints hotline: (800) 510-1747
- Project email: [email protected]
- Email updates: MassDOT's project sign-up page, which is the most likely place for the separate Belgrade advisory to show up first
The Train Weekends Are Still on the Calendar
The bridge sits right on top of the Needham Line, so rail riders have had their own version of this detour. MassDOT's June schedule tied a series of weekend Needham Line shutdowns to the bridge work and utility relocations. Each one runs from 12:01 a.m. on the first day to 11:59 p.m. on the last. That schedule has already changed once. The MBTA canceled the November 7–8 suspension and ran full weekend service.
Here's what's left:
| Date | What's listed | Where it's listed |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, November 13 | No Needham Line service between Forest Hills and South Station | MBTA service notice, October 16 |
| Friday–Sunday, November 13–15 | Weekend shutdown between Needham Heights and South Station | MassDOT June schedule |
| Friday–Sunday, December 4–6 | Weekend shutdown between Needham Heights and South Station | MassDOT June schedule |
During these shutdowns there's no replacement shuttle. MassLive reported that riders are being directed to bus Routes 35, 36 and 37 between West Roxbury and Forest Hills, then the Orange Line, with Route 59 serving the Needham end. For its recent route-bus substitutions, the MBTA has told riders to allow at least 35 extra minutes between West Roxbury and South Station. The Needham Line alerts page shows the current status of each weekend and is worth checking before any trip into town.
December 5 Falls on a Listed Shutdown Weekend
The December 4–6 dates also cover one of the bigger Saturdays on Centre Street. West Roxbury Main Streets' Holiday Market is Saturday, December 5, from 4 to 7 p.m., in the Rockland Trust parking lot at 1920 Centre Street and next door at B & M Auto. The lineup includes vendors, Santa, seasonal music, the Hive Mobile Bar, and B & M Auto's Christmas tree lot. If the December rail weekend goes ahead as MassDOT scheduled it, anyone coming to the market from downtown will be on the Orange Line and a 35, 36 or 37 bus, not the train. If the bridge reopens on time, that same weekend may be one of the first when people driving in from the parkway side don't need the Belgrade detour.
For more on what's happening around the neighborhood between projects, see our late-summer guide to West Roxbury and our West Roxbury neighborhood page.
If you live near the Holy Name rotary or along Belgrade and you're wondering how a construction timeline running into summer 2027 fits with a sale or lease next year, Marika & Adam Real Estate Group can go through it with you street by street. Start with an instant home valuation or schedule a local consultation.
