Highway Task Force still mulling a pair of plans
Published on January 24th, 2007
READING, MA - After close to three years of work there may be no one final recommendation for the last of three hearings of the 93/95 Interchange Transportation Study Task Force which is now scheduled for some time in March.
"The fact is that we can't make a final, final decision here in the planning study," Bob Frey, Manager of Statewide Planning with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and the Task Force coordinator said.
Frey explained that he and James Purdy, the Task Force design consultant from Louis Berger Group have been meeting with Federal Highway and MassHighway officials. Those people are seeking some answers before the Task Force submits a plan for further evaluation.
"Federal Highway (Administration) will want to see at least two alternative plans," Purdy said.
Frey continued, "That means we should bring some closure to this process and write a recommendation to submit for the environmental study."
According to the process that has been outlined, the recommendation from this group then has to go before several reviews before a final plan is approved and funding is sought for the project. The next reviews will determine if the project is feasible from an engineering standpoint and what environmental aspects such as wetland mitigation, air quality and noise levels need to be considered.
The project, which could range from $94 million to $123.9 million, must then go before the Metropolitan Planning Organization to receive priority rating for the funding. That organization has a member liaison sitting on the Task Force.
Frey said that the Task Force has been working at two levels in their sub-committee and full task force meetings. The talks have included looking at transportation demand management by providing alternative sources of transportation for people who use the busiest interchange in the Commonwealth as well as physical changes to the interchange.
The physical changes and the transportation changes have to be looked at as one package. This will provide built in mitigations during the environmental studies.
At this time, the Task Force is looking at two possible plans for recommendation. One plan, labeled H3B (revised) calls for the removal of the loop ramp on the northwest corner taking traffic from Route 128 south (I-95) to I-93 south. This would be replaced with a flyover ramp that would start where the present ramp from Route 128 south goes to I-93 north and split off crossing over both highways and depositing traffic onto I93 south at a point close to area where BJ's is located.
It would also remove the southeast ramp from Route 128 north to I-95 north and replace that with a flyover ramp that would start on the south side of the interchange and bring the traffic to the north side of the interchange on I-93.
This plan also calls for a collector-distributor road (CD road) to be built on Route 128 north, starting at a point south of the present Washington
Street exit. Traffic wishing to take that exit or get on to I-93 north or south would have to move into the right hand CD road to make the exits. The Washington Street interchange would also be reconfigured.
The plan labeled H3C calls for the similar changes to the Interchange. The difference would be at the Washington Street exit.
This plan would move the Washington Street exit further south, requiring some commercial property taking. That taking would be mitigated by the land where the Washington Street exit now exists being opened up to private development.
Reading Selectman Camille Anthony questioned the change in the plans as they now call for more use of flyovers as opposed to a combination of the flyover ramps and depressed ramps that would be more compatible to noise reduction.
Purdy said that no decision had been made on the change as yet but that the MassHighway officials are concerned the depressed ramps would create drainage problems.
Other concerns are also being looking considered at this time. Therefore the Task Force is scheduled to meet twice in February. A final of three public hearings will be scheduled for a date in March at a location to be determined in Woburn.
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