Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News 

WPRO Newsroom

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and other officials braved wind and rain Monday to announce a contract to upgrade four rail bridges in Fall River and New Bedford, which are key to the South Coast Rail Project.

The contract calls for upgrades to three rail bridges in Fall River and the Wamsutta Bridge in New Bedford over ten years, at a cost of $42 million.

“It has taken us longer to get to this point than we hoped, but we’ve gotten this point before, what, 20 years of other governors and other administrations promising to,” said Patrick.

“I’ll be even more gratified when I ride that first train,” said Patrick.

The South Coast Rail Project is an initiative aimed at restoring commuter train service from Boston’s South Station to Southeastern Massachusetts. According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford are the only cities within 50 miles of Boston without commuter train service.

Officials also said the upgrade to the bridges would be as important to freight trains as they are to commuter service. Currently, because of the condition of the bridges, freight trains must creep along at two to three miles an hour.

“To the extent that it supports freight rail, its a great enhancement to the Port of New Bedford,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.

“It will bring long term job growth to an area that really needs to be connected to the rest of the state,” Mitchell said.

Cardi Corporation was awarded the $42 million contract to perform the bridge work, part of the overall, 10-year, $210 million planning and construction contract awarded to the joint venture of Providence-based Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Corporation.