Lane Reduction on Mass Pike

[Kahta]

Does anyone know why the EB I-90 from the pru tunnel to about comm ave is knocked down to 3 lanes?

Same with WB from the allston tolls to after Comm ave. It took me 10 minutes to get from cambridge street to the pike this morning because of the toll plaza traffic merging after the plaza. Is this some sort of test to see if the pike can handle being knocked down to 6 lanes?

 

[datadyne007]

See post #215 in the General Infrastructure thread (which is where we typically post construction/detours/etc)

MassDOT will begin work on July 27th on a $17.6 Million project on I-90 in Boston work will stretch from Commonwealth Avenue to the Prudential Tunnel. Work includes median reconstruction, lighting improvements and ITS upgrade (AKA cameras, message boards).

Here is MassDOT Blog http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/boston-plan-ahead-for-i-90-lane-restrictions/

 

[Kahta]

Thanks-- this seems like something that could have easily been accomplished earlier in the summer and/or when the ceiling tiles were being removed from the pru tunnel.

 

[Matthew]

Yeah... this is the beginning of the multi-year saga to replace the Comm Ave overpass of I-90. Next year, half the bridge deck, and a 10 day shutdown of Comm Ave sometime in August.

It sounds like MassDOT did not publicize the construction impacts very well. Typical.

 

[BosDevelop]

This is already causing problems especially for the morning commute. Come the Tuesday after Labor Day if a lane is still closed, it is going to be pure chaos. A rush hour trip that can already take an hour from the Weston/I-95 tolls to downtown will take much longer. Sorry but closing a lane of the Pike all day long for 6 months is entirely unacceptable. I don't understand how this work cannot be completed during non-rush hour hours.

 

[Equilibria]

I don't understand how this work cannot be completed during non-rush hour hours.

As ever, the trade-off is between day work and a very long duration. Work takes the time it takes. If you can only work for a third of the 24-hour day, the project will take 3 times as long. In this case, you'd have been dealing with significant lane reductions each night for 18 months, with all the attendant noise the construction would cause. In fact, it would probably take longer because of all the wasted time getting the equipment on and off of the road each night.

Same decision MassDOT made for GC. 2 years of total shut down or 5 years of serious disruption.

 

[cden4]

Thanks-- this seems like something that could have easily been accomplished earlier in the summer and/or when the ceiling tiles were being removed from the pru tunnel.

I don't think they could have done that (maybe parts I suppose) because they had punched through the median during the Pru tunnel construction to divert traffic to one side of the road or the other when they had tunnel closures.

 

[BosDevelop]

As ever, the trade-off is between day work and a very long duration. Work takes the time it takes. If you can only work for a third of the 24-hour day, the project will take 3 times as long. In this case, you'd have been dealing with significant lane reductions each night for 18 months, with all the attendant noise the construction would cause. In fact, it would probably take longer because of all the wasted time getting the equipment on and off of the road each night.

Same decision MassDOT made for GC. 2 years of total shut down or 5 years of serious disruption.

why can't the eastbound lane remain open 2 hours a day from 7:00-9:00am and the westbound lane remain open for 2 hours from 4:30-6:30pm or something like that? Day work is one thing. Rush hour work is another. And I would have less of a hard time understanding this if it was a few weeks. But 6 months of closing a lane during rush hour on one of the busiest stretches of roads in New England = ill conceived. Trust me, it is going to be an absolute nightmare come the morning of September 2. I am planning on either taking the morning off or leaving for work at 5:30am.

 

[cden4]

I'm guessing it's because the lane closure isn't that simple. They actually SHIFTED the lanes and restriped them to make the merges safer and create room against the median where they needed it. They can't easy do and undo that each night.

 

[FitchburgLine]

Is this some sort of test to see if the pike can handle being knocked down to 6 lanes?

Hey, that could be a good idea! Use the space gained to straighten curves and enable a full quad tracked 125mph Worcester line, with local tracks for EMU service (light rail routed over GJ is another possibility). Has there ever been a study on the non-pike land takings for a project like this?

 

[matredsoxfan]

Yeah... this is the beginning of the multi-year saga to replace the Comm Ave overpass of I-90. Next year, half the bridge deck, and a 10 day shutdown of Comm Ave sometime in August.

It sounds like MassDOT did not publicize the construction impacts very well. Typical.

Comm Ave bridge is a Separate project. That Design-Build project to replace the bridge superstructure using accelerated bridge construction will begin next spring as the contract has not yet been awarded. The contract that has been awarded involves median reconstruction w/ concrete median barrier, new highway lighting and ITS improvements (sensors, cameras and replacement of message boards) from Comm Ave to the Pru Tunnel along I-90. It also includes Comm Ave substructure bridge repairs as the new barriers will be constructed infront and next to the abutments of the bridge.

 

[matredsoxfan]

Hey, that could be a good idea! Use the space gained to straighten curves and enable a full quad tracked 125mph Worcester line, with local tracks for EMU service (light rail routed over GJ is another possibility). Has there ever been a study on the non-pike land takings for a project like this?

Or how about using that lane as a breakdown lane and eliminating the little emergency pull offs.

 

[matredsoxfan]

Yeah... this is the beginning of the multi-year saga to replace the Comm Ave overpass of I-90. Next year, half the bridge deck, and a 10 day shutdown of Comm Ave sometime in August.

It sounds like MassDOT did not publicize the construction impacts very well. Typical.

Try again. State held a meeting with the community in the winter and then again last month and a blog post was put out 7 Days before the closure and message boards have been flashing the message for 2 weeks prior as well as a twitter post. That's not publicizing the project?

 

[datadyne007]

Mat, just fyi - you can use the Multi-Quote feature to respond to several different posts at once. If you click on the ("+) button to the right of the big (Quote) button, it will select that post, similar to a checkbox. You can do this on whatever other posts you wish to respond to and hit (Post Reply) right above the Tag box at the bottom of the page where you can then write responses to them all in one post.

 

[Matthew]

Comm Ave bridge is a Separate project. That Design-Build project to replace the bridge superstructure using accelerated bridge construction will begin next spring as the contract has not yet been awarded. The contract that has been awarded involves median reconstruction w/ concrete median barrier, new highway lighting and ITS improvements (sensors, cameras and replacement of message boards) from Comm Ave to the Pru Tunnel along I-90. It also includes Comm Ave substructure bridge repairs as the new barriers will be constructed infront and next to the abutments of the bridge.

I know. That's why I called it a multi-year saga, not a single project. But they are repairing the substructure, and are intending to start work on the deck about a year from now. I'm mostly interested in the deck repairs because following that it will be possible to finally fix the awful clusterf$@k that is the BU Bridge intersection. But that day is still at least two years away.

Try again. State held a meeting with the community in the winter and then again last month and a blog post was put out 7 Days before the closure and message boards have been flashing the message for 2 weeks prior as well as a twitter post. That's not publicizing the project?

Well, apparently, since Kahta was caught by surprise. I think that he's a pretty aware person. Honestly, putting out a blog post and flashing some messages on boards is not really publicizing matters. Most people ignore that stuff, and I don't blame them. I think MassDOT massively overestimates how effective those methods are.

Compare that to the outreach they did for the Callahan shutdown. Everybody knew about it. It was all over the news.

Mat, just fyi - you can use the Multi-Quote feature to respond to several different posts at once.

Good call!

 

[matredsoxfan]

Mat, just fyi - you can use the Multi-Quote feature to respond to several different posts at once. If you click on the ("+) button to the right of the big (Quote) button, it will select that post, similar to a checkbox. You can do this on whatever other posts you wish to respond to and hit (Post Reply) right above the Tag box at the bottom of the page where you can then write responses to them all in one post.

Oh. Thanks Matthew. I did not know that.

 

[omaja]

This is already causing problems especially for the morning commute. Come the Tuesday after Labor Day if a lane is still closed, it is going to be pure chaos. A rush hour trip that can already take an hour from the Weston/I-95 tolls to downtown will take much longer. Sorry but closing a lane of the Pike all day long for 6 months is entirely unacceptable. I don't understand how this work cannot be completed during non-rush hour hours.

Most of the morning congestion on the Pike east of the Allston tolls seems to be directly connected to the poor design/ramp geometry of the 90/93 interchange and congestion on 93 itself. They're still maintaining three through lanes, so I don't think it'll be any sort of carmageddon since the fourth lane has always been an auxiliary/exit lane between the Pru and Allston tolls. My guess is we're just seeing teething problems from people getting used to the new lane alignment and knowing when/where they need to merge.

 

[BosDevelop]

Most of the morning congestion on the Pike east of the Allston tolls seems to be directly connected to the poor design/ramp geometry of the 90/93 interchange and congestion on 93 itself. They're still maintaining three through lanes, so I don't think it'll be any sort of carmageddon since the fourth lane has always been an auxiliary/exit lane between the Pru and Allston tolls. My guess is we're just seeing teething problems from people getting used to the new lane alignment and knowing when/where they need to merge.

Maybe you are right and eventually it won't be all that bad but post-Labor Day there will be a ton of additional drivers on the pike "getting used to the new alignment...." I cannot imagine how anyone could think it is going to be anything other than a nightmare for most of September at least. If the traffic is very slow and filled in all the way from the Weston tolls through the lane drop downtown at this time of year, how is it possibly going to go when the roads are actually crowded and not more or less as light as they get?

My typical travel time just between the Weston tolls and the Allston/Brighton tolls during most of the year = 20-30 minutes. During August it is about 10-15 minutes. Since the lane closure it has been 30-40 minutes. I will be shocked if it is not an hour or more come September. Let's not forget it is only about 9-10 miles.

 

[Kahta]

Try again. State held a meeting with the community in the winter and then again last month and a blog post was put out 7 Days before the closure and message boards have been flashing the message for 2 weeks prior as well as a twitter post. That's not publicizing the project?

I dont recall ever seeing any signage or message boards.

Well, apparently, since Kahta was caught by surprise. I think that he's a pretty aware person.
Good call!

Thanks!

Most of the morning congestion on the Pike east of the Allston tolls seems to be directly connected to the poor design/ramp geometry of the 90/93 interchange and congestion on 93 itself. They're still maintaining three through lanes, so I don't think it'll be any sort of carmageddon since the fourth lane has always been an auxiliary/exit lane between the Pru and Allston tolls. My guess is we're just seeing teething problems from people getting used to the new lane alignment and knowing when/where they need to merge.

I'd say that's more of the problem in the evening.

There isn't anywhere to merge-- the Allston plaza coming from the city does a 4 to 1 merge and then hardly even has an acceleration lane before it's dumped onto the pike which only has 3 lanes. The 4th lane is the on ramp from the plaza and the off ramp at the Pru. The pike itself is also 4 lanes from Newton to the Allston tolls. A pretty sizeable amount of traffic gets off at the pru.

 

[omaja]

I'd say that's more of the problem in the evening.

There isn't anywhere to merge-- the Allston plaza coming from the city does a 4 to 1 merge and then hardly even has an acceleration lane before it's dumped onto the pike which only has 3 lanes. The 4th lane is the on ramp from the plaza and the off ramp at the Pru. The pike itself is also 4 lanes from Newton to the Allston tolls. A pretty sizeable amount of traffic gets off at the pru.

I'm very confused. The construction is east of the toll plaza but you're talking about traffic headed away from the city? We're talking about the reduction of an auxiliary lane. It's really not the end of the world.