Rte. 128

The state's opened up its traffic cameras to the public, so now you can see what state traffic engineers see along Rte. 128, the Southeast Expressway, Rte. 3 north of 128, three spots on I-93 between 128 and the Zakim and near the Sagamore Bridge.

Doug reports (with photos) that the 1,000-car parking lot at the Riverside Green Line stop was manned by just one worker today as Red Sox fans arrived en masse to get to today's game:

... In a minature version of the Easter 2009 turnpike toll fiasco, insufficient staffing at the Riverside Green line terminal in Newton at noon on Sunday jammed traffic all the way back onto I-95/Route 128. ...

Bradley tweets traffic is already backed up for a couple miles in either direction.

First a ginormous crash shut 95 in Newburyport, then, just in time for the evening rush, a truck hit a utility pole, bringing electric lines down on 128 at Rte. 1 in Peabody, shutting the entire road.

Why Rte. 128 northbound was completely shut in Waltham this morning, from Channel 25:

Nothing like a little smash action during the morning rush (in this case, on the southbound side by Rte. 9) to slow things down.

$1.3-million re-signage program on the northern stretch of 128.

Paul Keleher forded 128 in Burlington this morning.

Photo posted under this Creative Commons license.

Channel 5 has the details on a two-car crash around 7 a.m. Channel 4 tweets a 10-mile backup at 8:26 a.m.

Whatever it was, I feel sorry for everybody who was stuck in the traffic nightmare there. Not only was the right lane on 128 southbound jammed up with all these people not moving at all, people trying to get to Highland from the feeder road off the side of 128 also weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Channel 4 reports there was a 10-mile backup caused by an accident near the Rte. 20 exit in Waltham.

Maria Varmazis tweets that workers pulling cable in the Winter Street area caused a short that started a fire that shut down the Winter Street ramp that led to her sitting on 128 for an hour this morning.

Channel 4 reports "at least 40 crashes" on greater Boston highways during this morning's rush. And, of course, a car fire on 128.

State give final OK to widening Rte. 128 to four lanes each way between Randolph and Dedham.

What could possibly go wrong when a film crew sets up shop at the Weston toll plaza during morning rush hour - especially when turnpike crews are already there doing some lane reconfiguring? Try a westbound traffic jam from Weston to Newton Corner.

Turnpike mouthpiece Mac Daniel at least had the decency to apologize for this, ah, clustertruck:

... In hindsight, we should not have allowed the filming to take place during the morning rush hour. In addition, work reconfiguring the lanes at the Weston interchange compounded the problem and should have been stopped when the backups began. Again, apologies all around. It won't happen again.

Channel 4 reports on the accident northbound near Rte. 2A around 6 a.m.:

State Police say two vehicles collided and one of them rolled over several times before landing in the grass near the breakdown lane. That driver was ejected and died. The other driver was not seriously hurt.

Gas tanker rolled over and exploded on Rte. 128 south near Highland Avenue around 5:30 a.m.; road shut, driver slightly injured, smoke visible from across the region.

Miss Von Schtoop was up early, went out for a drive, took photos along the way of a smoke ring from the accident drifting over Mission Hill, Cambridge, downtown and South Boston, including this montage from Southie:

Channel 4 has some details on the Thursday-night accident.

Impact with an 18-wheeler on I-95 in Foxboro today, that is:

... Since I was only a quarter mile from the accident I was able to get out of the car and like many other drivers, actually walk the pavement of I-95. Sure the tie-up may have been a bit inconvenient, but I was still having a better day than the guy in the F-150. ...

Also today:
Lexington Rollover Hinders Route 128 Traffic. Hinders?
Rollover on Sears Road, Brookline.

Car no match for back end of a parked lumber truck, around 1 p.m. in the high-speed right lane breakdown lane on Rte. 128 south near Rte. 16.

Wade Roush walks around, photographs the ghost cloverleaf of Canton, built for the Highway that Never Was - the Southwest Expressway meant to gouge through Boston and Cambridge (along the route of today's Orange Line, basically).

Just remember: You are no match for a truck.

Three-car rush-hour smashup narrowly averted on Rte. 128 today by two drivers far more alert than the loser who slammed on her brakes in the fast lane while texting.