By Tom Dalton
SALEM — Train commuters to Boston had a good excuse for being late to work yesterday. They had to wait about 45 minutes while a tugboat freed a large barge that had become stuck under the Beverly-Salem railroad bridge.
This is the first incident at this railroad crossing over the Danvers River since the winter of 2007-'08, when the bridge was struck by a barge. Following that accident, the bridge broke down several times, disrupting thousands of commuter rail passengers and boaters.
Those incidents prompted the MBTA to announce $1.6 million in repairs to the bridge's ancient gear and hydraulic systems, a project that is currently under way.
An estimated 17,000 train commuters cross the bridge every day, the MBTA said.
Yesterday's accident caused only minor damage to the bridge, according to Salem Harbormaster Peter Gifford. However, it sparked a related dispute over who has the right of way — trains or marine vessels — at that key crossing.
"The barge never touched the (bridge) turnstile," Gifford said, "just the wooden fenders surrounding it."
The 140-foot barge, which was carrying dredge materials from Danvers marinas, got wedged around 7:45 a.m. as it passed though the Salem side headed out to Salem Harbor.
The bridge underpass is slightly narrower on that side and has a wooden fender system to protect the bridge that is "warped slightly," Gifford said in his report.
A tugboat pushing the barge had to swing around to the front of the scow and move it backward and out from under the bridge, the harbormaster said.
The barge, owned by a local marine contractor, Craig Burnham, is 36 feet wide and was attempting to pass through a bridge underpass that is about 39 feet on the Salem, or outbound, side. The bridge is 40 feet on the Beverly side, Gifford said.
The narrower Salem side, with its system of fenders, "will not allow a barge that size to go through," Burnham said. "I don't know what possessed the state to build it like that."
Eventually, the barge crossed on the other side.
However, before it was allowed to pass, the long vessel loaded with dredge materials had to wait about 45 minutes while several backed-up commuter trains crossed over the bridge, sparking a second controversy.
"The bridge operator wanted to keep it closed (to marine traffic) so that the trains could get caught up and back on schedule," Gifford stated.
The bridge is manned by a bridge tender and swings open to allow boats through and then back in place for trains.
Burnham, who arrived on the scene minutes after the accident, said he didn't mind waiting a few minutes for the backed-up trains, but a longer delay like the one yesterday presented problems and could have made the passage dangerous.
"We were losing the tide," he said.
Burnham said marine vessels have a legal right of way and pointed to federal regulations covering the Danvers River that state that "trains and locomotives shall be controlled so that any delay in opening the draw span shall not exceed 10 minutes."
The Salem harbormaster said he asked the U.S. Coast Guard for a ruling.
"This is the first of 40 trips," Gifford said. "We better find out who has the right of way pretty quick."
Last week, Burnham Associates began dredging Bunky's Marina, the Danversport Yacht Club and Pope's Landing, all in Danvers, according to the Danvers harbormaster's office. This was the first barge trip with dredge materials, Burnham said.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman, noting the same federal regulation, said that normally a boat or barge would have to wait only a few minutes for the bridge span to be opened.
"However, this obviously was not normal circumstances," Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said. "There are no regulations governing that."
