I-93/I-95 task force gains new scope
Published on May 5th, 2004
STONEHAM, MA - The I-93/95 task force amended its scope of work for consultant Louis-Berger Associates to include a detailed analysis of both interchange accident data and traffic figures on surrounding roadways.
According to Reading Selectman and task force member George Hines, several members of the regional committee expressed concerns with the original scope of work for the Needham consultant at a meeting held in Stoneham last Wednesday night.
"Some of the members of the task force had some issues about the past scope of work. So Mass Highway agreed to hold this meeting and the final scope of work was negotiated with the contractor," said Hines in a post-meeting interview.
"I think the biggest item was action and data analysis. I think [Louis-Berger Associates] are going to use some new methods to get some projections on the accidents and where they occur so they can determine what type of designs can eliminate those causes," Hines added.
Explaining another change for the planning consultant, Stoneham Selectman Tony Kennedy outlined a new proposal to examine the traffic data of a geographic 'diamond' surrounding the I-93/I-95 interchange.
According to Kennedy, the consulting firm, which is being paid $500,000 to conduct the proposed 18-month data analysis, will now examine traffic patterns on route 125 in Wilmington, Route 60 in Medford, Route 3 in Burlington, and the Route 128/95 changeover in an attempt to determine the impacts of the nearby roadways on the reoccurring rush-hour congestion at the I-93/I-95 cloverleaf.
"The specific terminology is called a local focus area. And that means what geographic area does the study involve? Is it just the cloverleaf itself?" explained Kennedy.
"It's one thing to just rearrange the ramps on the cloverleaf, but you have to ask how far and wide you're going with the traffic study. I thought it was important because you can't just look at the cloverleaf itself without studying the larger area," he added.
Although Mass Highway representatives initially estimated that the task force study would span one to two years, Kennedy and Hines indicated that the group could meet for years before making a final recommendations.
"Mass Highway basically said it would be several years before construction even began. But they didn't really have a time schedule figured out because we don't even know how long the environmental or designed feasibility study would last. So it could be three-years before they even began construction," Kennedy said.
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