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Comm. Ave. bridge at BU Bridge to be shut outbound for two weeks this summer
By adamg on Mon, 04/23/2018 - 11:48am
MassDOT today released the schedule for summer driving hell on the Comm. Ave. bridge: The outbound lanes will be shut between July 26 and Aug. 11 as part of "accelerated" replacement work scheduled for completion next year.
Detours and transit shuttles will be necessary for some station stops on the MBTA’s Green Line B Branch, MBTA Bus Routes CT2 and 47, the Worcester Commuter Rail Line, and Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited route. The impacts on all modes of transportation are a necessary part of having the MassDOT contractor work continuous shifts 24 hours a day and utilize Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques in order to reduce overall construction duration, minimize the impact on the traveling public and local community, and improve safety.
The bridge was in dire need of major work.
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Comments
Better than the bridge falling down
...but lordy, is it gonna suck on game days.
Ten games, three concerts
The Red Sox play games on 10 of the first 11 days of this stretch, including four against the Yankees. Then on the last three days of this stretch, you have Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, and Journey/Def Leppard all playing shows at Fenway. It would have actually been impossible to find any stretch of this length on the summer calendar with more Fenway events. This is the single least coordinated scheduling of all possible options. You really have to hand it to them, I guess.
Omggg
It was fine last year. Traffic will be bad on every road, regardless of the Sox' home schedule. The sky is not falling. But the bridge will if it's not fixed.
But it's still summertime
Fewer people will be going to work at this time of the year than during, say, May or September. It's also important to avoid weeks when BU is fully in session. (Though it will still take up much of BU's Summer Session 2.)
The days I'd most worry about
are the Saturdays and Sundays, July 28-29 (Twins) and August 4-5 (Yankees). Is there any possibility that MassDOT and the MBTA could allow a commuter train to run between South Station and Yawkey stations, even though the next part of the Worcester rail line west of Yawkey will be closed?
I might cut them a break on
I might cut them a break on the baseball side.
I don't remember if they got any cooperation from MLB or MLBPA last year to schedule all or even most of the crucial work period as road trip for the Sox. Generally, they don't like scheduling two-week road trips.
If they DID get some sort of cooperation in that regard for last year, remember that (a) the MLB schedules are set well in advance, and (b) because of a contractor failure, these two two-week disruptions that were supposed to be 2016 & 2017, had to be 2017 & 2018. If they had helped out in the past, MLB and/or MLBPA may have said "We did this for two years already, that's enough."
Really, though, the Sox traffic during this will be survivable. It's not THAT big a deal.
I'd fault Henry & Co much more for the concert bookings. I know they're trying to milk all they can out of their assets, but this is something they have more control over and they could have chosen to not do them, do less dates, or try to have other dates.
MassDOT
Seeing as how MassDOT only just announced the specific dates you can't exactly blame John Henry. Concerts get booked a year in advance.
Anyway, we lived though this last year and it was fine. Green line takes bit longer as you need to transfer to a bus and back. Most people driving wouldn't take Comm Ave anyway and the Pike is only reduced lanes, not closed.
Bridges need to be rebuilt. They can't do the work between Xmas & New Years which is about the only other "good" time.
This job has been going on
This job has been going on for at least a couple of years - dates for these two-week shutdowns must have been set a year or two ago. The state and city would have had all the big destinations and employers and neighborhood association etc... in the impacted area in for information/planning meetings back then.
It sucks right now
Something is fishy with this schedule
Whooooo-hoooo--you're not just a-kidding!!
It's gonna suck all the time, especially at rush-hour.
I don't see the link to MassDOT's press release or other info
Can you please add it?
http://www.massdot.state.ma
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/HighlightedProjects/CommonwealthA...
YAAAAASSSS
Part 2 of "Look how fast things can actually be done if there was absolutely any p[political will to do them!" Boston edition. I love this show!
Bike to Work Fortnight
If you are able, consider taking other modes - like biking. May be time to try it out, and figure out how you can, what to pack, how to wash up, etc.
If you are not able to bike, don't whine that someone brought it up - more bikes means less cars in your way.
Consider that you may be able to park somewhere outside of the mayhem zone and ride the rest of the way, too.
You seem to be forgetting...
You seem to be forgetting the many, many people who commute through that area using neither cars nor bikes. Public transit will be severely impacted for anyone trying to get to/from Allston/Brighton.
I actually had to trek out to
I actually had to trek out to my work’s archives in Allston last year during construction, a chore I hate on the best of days. To my surprise, it was ten thousand times more enjoyable than the summer 15 years ago when I commuted into Back Bay from a sublet at Harvard St.
All things considered, I thought they had a near-flawless traffic management plan and good comms all around.
Could have been worse...
I had to go through it one of those days last year and I thought it was managed pretty well. I hope they keep up the same level of mitigation this year.
Of course, it was just a one day adventure for me. Folks who do the B Line might disagree, although that's rarely pleasant even under the best of circumstances. Let's hope the weather is decent.
It took how long?
I mean, they were doing restoration work a while ago, which was already thirty years overdue. You mean that this repair is only being addressed now?
You notice these thingss when you aren't in a metal box on wheels. Holes in the decking, rusted cross braces falling off, etc.
And that was 15-20 years ago.
The more you defer maintenance, the more you pay.
Try a kayak
Kayak under some of these bridges. Pretty scary stuff.
Why, yes
I can see why trying to kayak under the Comm. Ave. bridge might be scary.
The plan was to replace one
The plan was to replace one half of the span last summer and the other half this summer. All the work in between is prep work to allow them to rip out the old span and put into place a new one in a short period of time. (As opposed to multiple years of one-lane-at-a-time roadway closures that go on and on and on...)