I-93/95 Task Force down to six proposals
Published on May 17th, 2006
WOBURN — The I-93/I-95 Interchange Transportation Study Task Force is starting to make some real progress toward coming up with a viable recommendation for changes at the Commonwealth's busiest interchange and have whittled a list of 14 component ideas down to six that bear further research.
Design Consultant James Purdy of Louis Berger Group showed the task force several drawings at a meeting in Woburn yesterday, that depicted how the components might work together to relieve congestion and increase safety at the intersection. Except for one component that requires some land-swapping in the industrial park area south of Washington Street in Woburn, the components meet all of the criteria set by the Task Force.
According to Purdy, and other members of his design team, no single part of the components will do the job of relieving the congestion at the interchange. However, when they are combined in any one of four proposals they will not only relieve congestion but improve safety.
The Cadillac of these combinations has been labeled H-4 as it is the fourth plan in the proposed highway improvements. The Task Force will also be making recommendations on Traffic Demand Management ideas to remove some vehicle trips from the highway by attempting to convince commuters to use alternative forms of transportation. Under H-4, a series of flyovers or flyunders (canyon like roadways below ground level) would be constructed to replace the present northwest and southwest loops of the interchange. Drivers from I-93 would connect to Route I-95 (128) using these new connectors.
Drivers along I-95 north would be diverted into new collector/distributor lanes that would allow access to I-93 but cut out the dangerous weave patterns that now exist. Vehicles wishing to enter the Interstate Roadway system from Washington Street in Woburn would be directed onto new ramps that would bring them to either I-93 by the collector/distributor roadway or directly onto I-95.
This proposed new Washington Street ramp complex would be built just south of the present ramp area. An added benefit would be to relieve congestion along Olympia Avenue in Woburn.
Another component of this design that is being proposed would be the addition of a fourth lane along I-95 south from above the Route 28 exit in
Reading to below the Mishawaum Road exit in Woburn. On the north side, the present fourth lane would be extended to the Route 129 exit at the Wakefield/Reading line.
Woburn City Engineer John “Jay” Corey and Woburn Planning Director Ed Tarallo had some safety concerns about this plan. The pair questioned the advisability of having the connector ramps from I-93 to I-95 south, be a left hand merge onto I-95.
Traffic modeling studies will be done by the consultants to see if this is a viable idea for the area. More discussions on the plans will take place at
future meetings of the Task Force.
Other proposed plans that were discussed contained some, but not all of the above components that were mentioned. A plan labeled H-3 would not contain either the collector distributor roadway or the relocation of the Washington Street ramp but would have all of the other components of H-4.
It has been stressed that any design plan that is finally recommended by this group would contain require no land taking in any of the three communities involved. One design component being looked at for the relocation of the Washington Street ramp would require a property taking but a compensatory property would be swapped in the same area, thus the component is still on the table for discussion.
Any plan, finally receiving a recommendation from this Task Force, will then be reviewed by a second task force for feasibility, cost and environmental impacts.
Traffic Demand Management proposals will be discussed at the next meeting of the Task Force scheduled for May 31 in Stoneham Town Hall. All meetings are from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and are open to the public.
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