Roads and Highways General Development Thread

Looks like the Salem St/Route 60 Rotary under 93 in Medford is being rebuilt starting on July 21st. Curious to see what the design will be as I can't currently find any plans for it. So far the only info I've been able to find is this:

This work is part of a $42.6 million Interstate Pavement Preservation Project on I-93. The project aims to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety. The planned improvements include:
  • Realignment of the I-93 on and off-ramps to reduce the linear approaches and introduce curvature, helping to lower vehicle speeds
  • Replacement of an existing sidewalk within the rotary with a shared use path
  • Installation of rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB’s) at crosswalks
  • Installation of high visibility signage and pavement markings
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hipster_garbage said:
Looks like the Salem St/Route 60 Rotary under 93 in Medford is being rebuilt starting on July 21st. Curious to see what the design will be as I can't currently find any plans for it. So far the only info I've been able to find is this:
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Based on your post, it looks like the rotary will still be there. I've never liked these large rotaries in an urban setting. Pedestrians and bikes are prey to high speed vehicles zipping through the merging roadways, not stopping unless another vehicle is in the rotary. The ramps on and off I-93 should be realigned to be at a sharp 90 degree angle to the rotary roadways, and vehicles to and from the realigned ramps required to come to a full stop at pedestrian controlled stoplights.
 
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Charlie_mta said:
Based on your post, it looks like the rotary will still be there. I've never liked these large rotaries in an urban setting. Pedestrians and bikes are prey to high speed vehicles zipping through the merging roadways, not stopping unless another vehicle is in the rotary. The ramps on and off I-93 should be realigned to be at a sharp 90 degree angle to the rotary roadways, and vehicles to and from the realigned ramps required to come to a full stop at pedestrian controlled stoplights.
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Yes, the rotary will still be there. This draft drawing was posted to the Medford subreddit and it looks like it'll be narrowed to one lane all around with the ramps narrowed and the sidewalks replaced with multi-use paths:

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hipster_garbage said:
Yes, the rotary will still be there. This draft drawing was posted to the Medford subreddit and it looks like it'll be narrowed to one lane all around with the ramps narrowed and the sidewalks replaced with multi-use paths:

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Thank you for the info. It looks like it will still be a high speed free for all.
This what I would have done (in red):


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ceo said:
Looks like it doesn't include fixing or eliminating that insane ramp off the NB onramp that drops you into the oncoming lane of Fountain St.
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That type of sweeping, merging highway type roadway were all the rage in the 1960s when this was built. Pedestrians and bicyclists were thought of as impediments. It was all cars, cars, cars, and how fast they could go. I remember hearing a story about an LA traffic planner back then who complained about how the presence of pedestrians messed up all his traffic models.
 
www.bostonglobe.com

Police intend to charge man who allegedly repainted Italian flag street lines - The Boston Globe

Tensions between city officials and the Italian-American community in the Nonantum neighborhood took a defiant turn after a resident allegedly repainted the Italian flag street lines that Mayor Ruthanne Fuller had removed last month.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
Police will be seeking complaints against the person in Newton District Court for violating state property damage laws, Henrickson said Thursday.
The alleged vandalism came after fierce backlash to the mayor’s unannounced decision to paint over the lines in late June, citing goals to calm traffic on Adams Street and reduce crashes.
Residents immediately demanded the Italian colors, which have lined the street for 90 years, be reinstated, and some threatened to take matters into their own hands, residents said.
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www.wbjournal.com

House passes bill to funnel millions into local road infrastructures

The House unanimously passed an enhanced Chapter 90 local road funding bond bill Wednesday, as Democrats touted a "fiscally responsible" borrowing approach that will also unlock millions of dollars for other local infrastructure needs throughout the state.
www.wbjournal.com www.wbjournal.com
The legislation is based on a proposal that Gov. Maura Healey filed in January that sought to authorize $1.5 billion in Chapter 90 local road and bridge funding over a five-year period. The Transportation Committee later scaled down that approach to one year over federal funding concerns.

The smaller package nearly immediately cleared the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets after a hearing Monday. It allocates $300 million for the latest annual Chapter 90 reauthorization, with $100 million of that pot to be doled out based on a different road mileage formula meant to better support rural communities.

The bill also incorporates $885 million in borrowing to support various infrastructure initiatives, including $500 million for the Mass. Department of Transportation road and bridge lifecycle asset management program, $200 million to replace and modernize culverts and small bridges, and $185 million for capital investments to "reduce congestion hotspots and increase street safety statewide," according to a summary.
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stick n move said:
I guess work on the diverging diamond in natick has started. I’m sorry but this is completely overbuilt and obnoxious.

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Yeah, with all the pressing transit expansion needs and basic roadway rehab work overdue elsewhere, this expensive white elephant interchange is one of the last things we need built. It does look like the road engineers took too many psychedelics while designing this one.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Yeah, with all the pressing transit expansion needs and basic roadway rehab work overdue elsewhere, this expensive white elephant interchange is one of the last things we need built. It does look like the road engineers took too many psychedelics while designing this one.
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This and the $1.5 billion Chapter 90 funding announcement in the post prior while the T faces a funding deficit this year is quite telling..
 
stick n move said:
I guess work on the diverging diamond in natick has started. I’m sorry but this is completely overbuilt and obnoxious.

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Utterly ridiculous! Massive waste of money and land.

Jeremi said:
This project could be a single set of traffic lights.
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100%!! I said the same thing when this was made public almost exactly 1 year ago. Rather than this colossal waste of resources and land, we could open up government owned parcels for housing or additional commercial.
CBCArch61 said:
Wow! Talk about a colossal waste of money. I love the dedicated path for people, but I feel like this is a vast waste of land and resources.
Here is a somewhat radical (to MassDOT at least) idea. The first signal going east is 1.16 miles away. The first signal going west is 1.4 miles. Add a signal and slow down the traffic moving through here. Let's ground this "interchange" (it is really just a large intersection or at least should be), add a traffic signal and incorporate the pedestrian features AND car features at grade. This could eliminate the ramping and odd collector roads around the intersection as well as open up land that could be sold off by MassDOT (or at least ground leased). I would also be willing to bet that the land value would offset a good amount of the cost of grounding and rebuilding the intersection. This would also unlock approximately 7 acres of land for development!
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I am all for MassDOT getting on the DDI bandwagon (even the tough TDOT is embracing them here in TN), but lets do it at actual interstates and not state roads and Main Streets.
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Utterly ridiculous! Massive waste of money and land.
CBCArch61 said:
100%!! I said the same thing when this was made public almost exactly 1 year ago. Rather than this colossal waste of resources and land, we could open up government owned parcels for housing or additional commercial.
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This is what i would have done: an SPUI (Single Point Urban Interchange). Rte 9 would be depressed below grade under the SPUI. One single traffic light, plus grade separation of Rte 9.
Yellow would be developable parcels.

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Charlie_mta said:
Utterly ridiculous! Massive waste of money and land.

This is what i would have done: an SPUI (Single Point Urban Interchange). Rte 9 would be depressed below grade under the SPUI. One single traffic light, plus grade separation of Rte 9.
Yellow would be developable parcels.

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I like this and think its always important within cities to make interchanges have as small of a footprint that is physically possible. Its acceptable for car use but for walking/biking…etc its a million times better. So overall it serves the most amount of modes the best. Huge interchanges serve cars extremely well at the expense of making walking/biking nearly impossible or too intimidating to even try.
 
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