Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 (Current Projects, Conceptual Improvements, & Long Term)

[jpaz0816]

One area of the Mass Pike that seems to be getting worse and worse is the Exit 90 interchange with I-290 & I-395. Specifically there always seems to be traffic on I-90 Westbound at Exit 90 and at the merging onramp traffic from I-290/I-395. The other issue is that I-290 Westbound traffic gets stuck queuing in the right lane to get on to I-90 at exit 12 for 1-2 miles at times. Does anyone know if MassDOT is eyeing this area for traffic studies or improvements?

The other ridiculous aspect of this messy interchange is that traffic coming up I-395 Northbound to get onto I-90 has to get off the highway and merge onto Route 12 in Auburn before jumping on the I-90 on ramp to head I-90 Eastbound/Westbound. This is crazy to me and Route 12 in the summer can get really backed up because there is a light right before the onramp. This design is horrific and I wonder if it would ever be changed? See my markups in red and dont mind the horrible line tracing I attempted lol. This area is very constrained by neighborhoods and businesses.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

This area is very constrained by neighborhoods and businesses.

It's also tightly constrained by rock cliffs around the actual ramps of the trumpet interchange. The Pike mainline is blasted through a cut in that vicinity.

I'm honestly at a loss to describe how this interchange can be significantly improved given all the constraints on every side. And the state's never studied anything here, so I think they've reached the same conclusion.

 

[Stlin]

I *believe* the last studies of this area were in the late 90s to early 2000s when they were trying to build an access road to Worcester Airport - I don't think it's accessible online, but reporting from the time seems to suggest that MassHighway would have considered reconfiguring the RT12 ramps for airport access from I90/290.