Residents voice opposition to proposed MassHighway I’93-I/95 interchange
Published on June 12th, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - When too many lights were turned down at Stoneham High School last week during a MassHighway public hearing, one audience member likened it to the public’s having been left in the dark about the massive highway redesign project that will, for some, take place in their own backyards.
That was the tone of the state’s second public hearing on the proposed redesign project of the I-93/I-95 interchange in Woburn, Reading and Stoneham. Residents and business owners of the three towns filled the Stoneham High auditorium to find out the latest on the project being pitched by MassHighway, and to voice, in large part, their opposition to the proposed designs and displeasure with the process.
The meeting was held on Tuesday, June 4 and was the second of three public hearings on the project. The first was held in Woburn in November of last year. According to many at last week’s meeting, and acknowledged by MassHighway, the state did a poor job notifying the public about that first meeting.
The third public meeting is scheduled for late fall in Reading.
An open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday allowed citizens to view six different designs of proposed improvements to the existing interchange. This was followed by presentations and a question & answer session.
Currently, the proposed project is in the feasibility study phase, a phase that is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year with the paring down of all design alternatives to one.
According to MassHighway Project Engineer Stan Wood, the existing I-93/I-95 cloverleaf is a “problem interchange” which fails in processing traffic from two major highway by forcing too much weaving, merging and switching of traffic.
The goals of the proposed project are to improve safety and reduce congestion on the highways themselves as well as on the side roads that are heavily trafficked when problems arise on the interstates.
MassHighway is trying to come up with alternatives that meet these goals and that carry the least impact. Working with the design firm of Edwards and Kelcey, Mass-Highway presented alternatives which range from constructing relatively simple collector/distributor roads to developing systems of three and four level “flyover” ramps, similar to that at the Commerce Way exit off I-93N.
In addition, the increasingly busy Mishawum Road/Was-hington Street interchange off I-95 is also being considered for redesign due to its proximity to the I-93/I-95 cloverleaf.
But nearly all remedies under consideration will cost people much more than tax dollars. Residents in all three towns are vulnerable to losing their homes and neighborhoods for the sake of improvements to a highway interchange that serves commuters throughout the New England region.
In fact, the adage “if you build it, they will come” was heard more than once throughout the evening as residents and business owners voiced their disdain at the prospect of sacrificing so much for the sake of more traffic through the area.
Consequences of the highest impact designs were discussed by Stan Slepoy of Mass-Highway’s Right-of-Way Bureau. The right-of-way process is the determination of which properties the state must take ownership of for the sake of construction. This process takes place after the 25 percent design completion stage of the project, which is not expected for another two years. A final design alternative must first be chosen at the end of 2002.
“We are very early in this process,” Slepoy said, and therefore could not provide details of which residential and/or commercial properties will be taken. But once the 25 percent design is reached, the state will have a good idea of the design’s footprint and what properties need to be taken to accommodate it. The affected properties will be appraised based on their fair market value at the time of acquisition and before construction.
Technically, Slepoy said, a homeowner is given 120 days to relocate once the state acquires the property. In reality, he said, property owners are given however long they need to find comparable property.
“It takes as long as it will take to make you whole.”
Additional compensation may be available, in some cases, to recreate a home in another area of the city/town or adjacent city/town.
Slepoy advised that if a property owner is not satisfied with the appraisal, state law allows him or her to sue the state for additional funds.
Stoneham Police Officer Larry Rotondi just finished building his Constitution Road home, which now sits in the shadow of the looming project. He told the audience that his family lost land twice to eminent domain over the years, and neither time received what they considered fair.
“Everyone who will lose a house will sue because they (the state) won’t give you what you want.”
Only property owners directly impacted will be contacted regarding the right of way process. But what happens to those left behind?
“Depending on the design, I may or may not have a home,” said Reading resident Richard Dennis.
Chances are if his house is not taken, much of his neighborhood as he knows it will be. Dennis said he has already lost money since he could not sell his house now for what it is worth due to the looming project.
“Are you going to show good faith and pay us now so I can move...?”
Slepoy reiterated that the process couldn’t begin until a final design is determined and the 25 percent phase is completed. But Wood added that the state is “prepared to look outside the box” with regard to the remaining neighborhoods.
Richard Abate of Reading is a real estate broker and reminded attendees of the state’s full disclosure law in selling property.
“You must tell potential buyers about this project...Right now, you’ve been put in a position to reduce the value of your house.”
Despite the palpable tension, Darlene Bruen of Woburn suggested that anger could be a good thing if channeled into action.
“I’m not telling you not to be angry. You should be angry because this stinks. There is nothing good about it...but your worst enemy is complacency.”
Bruen is a Woburn resident whose home will likely be taken in the project. She was at the first public hearing at Woburn High School last November.
“I was angry. I was mostly scared about what was going to happen to my home, my family.”
But instead of sitting back, she sprang into action, talking to anyone who would listen, from city planners to state legislators. Initially, she vowed to work toward stopping the project but quickly learned that, as a high priority with the state, the project was going to happen.
Instead, she pulled together residents and business owners from each of the three towns and formed the Tri-Community Highway Action Group (THAG). The group began educating itself about the process and finding ways to partner with MassHighway and local politicians “to figure out how to make this thing work.”
“We will indeed have a say in how and what the final plan is if we are organized and we stay together.” Bruen encouraged people to contact any THAG member or its website (www.winchester.americantown.com) to find out about getting involved with the project.
“It’s not just your home and your family. It’s your towns and our cities...We’re all in this together...My mission is that everybody is left whole.”
THAG wants to put its own engineer on the project to come up with a plan endorsed by that group. But to do so takes money, Bruen said, reiterating the need for participation. A THAG fundraiser is planned for June 21 at the Woburn Elks.
According to Wood, Mass-Highway will consider designs other than those presented on Tuesday. One Reading resident sketched a design during the meeting and submitted it for consideration. Stoneham resident Robert Conway asked about the possibility of depressing some of the ramps with tunnels to lessen the impacts to neighborhoods. That idea is also expected to be considered.
State Representative Carol Donovan of Woburn, who will represent the affected areas of Stoneham and Reading when the state’s redistricting plan takes affect, urged the public to stay involved in the process. She is concerned for those whose will lose their homes, for those whose homes will not be taken but will suffer devaluation of the property because of proximity to the new layout, and for the project’s effect on the environment.
However, she questioned MassHighway’s time line of 10-12 years and pointed out that, at this point, there is no federal or state money appropriated to the project.
“We’re in a terrible state of finance in this state...I think it will be a much longer process.”
Stoneham Selectman Anthony Kennedy urged MassHighway not to solely rely on engineering designs and computer models but to take into account concerns of the people.
“If it is not good for the people, then it’s not the right thing to do,” he said.
Reading Selectman Rick Shubert concurred, stating that the needs and fair treatment of the affected homeowners must be at the forefront of the process. He also pointed out that cities and town will be impacted by the potential taking of roads, businesses and tax revenue.
But not everyone objected to the public information process. Richard Cagliano owns property in Woburn and in the North End and was glad that at least with this project, he is being forewarned.
“You people are very lucky...The North End did not have a chance. You don’t know what they’re going through with the Big Dig.”
For now, the process continues but many residents hope that their concerns have been heard and are carefully considered going forward. A date for the Reading public hearing has not yet been determined.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!