Rt 2 Widening in Arlington

[BostonUrbEx]

Route 2 Widening Study Under Way
March 31, 2011

ARLINGTON?MassDOT Sec. Jeffery Mullan says the state is funding studies to widen Route 2 to a five-lane highway in each direction between Lexington and Cambridge.



Mullan said Thursday the Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued a decision that upheld one it made earlier last year. MassDOT favors a five-lane highway, saying it best balanced the need to provide safe, efficient transportation with social, economic and environment concerns. Mullan noted that significant delays and back ups could be attributed to the lack of capacity on the corridor. A lawsuit had questioned the widening to five lanes, which suggested that the parallel access roads be upgraded to three lanes in conjunction with the widening.

The project includes improvements for three interchanges and local roads and replaces two Accelerated Bridge Program bridges.

Couldn't find any thread about this already.

 

[jass]

April fools?

Route 2 has no traffic issues away from Alewife. The traffic is caused by going from 4 lanes to 2 lanes each way.

How does adding a 5th lane away from the area help at all...???

Save the space and use it to build one of the three new red line branches.

Branch 1 - Minuteman trail to Arlington Heights
Branch 2 - Route 2 to the airfield
Branch 3 - The existing commuter rail line to waltham

 

[Ron Newman]

Wonders if this reporting is accurate, as there is a study going on about the Route 2/16 intersection, which might involve adding one westbound lane for a short distance.

What are you quoting from?

 

[jass]

It's a joke! Damn you EST!

 

[DZH22]

Thank goodness it's a joke! Seemed like the most worthless appropriation of funds ever!

Here is a real issue though that irks me. Route 3 from Burlington to Nashua... used to be 2 lanes and 55 mph, then construction caused it to become 1 lane + a breakdown lane (fast lane, terrifying) and still 55 mph, and now it's 3 wide lanes and probably the straightest highway in the state, and still 55 mph!!! There should be a petition to change this! I have done 70 and been by far the slowest person on the road (I have also done, like, 100, but that was when I was a young'n). It's nearly impossible and extremely artificial to have to keep your speed so low. Seriously, what can be done?

 

[Ron Newman]

This is why I didn't immediately recognize your post as an April Fool joke:

Design Public Hearing (3/31/11) for the proposed intersection and traffic signal improvement: Concord Turnpike at Alewife Brook Parkway

which does in fact include some "minor widening".

 

[jass]

This is why I didn't immediately recognize your post as an April Fool joke:

Design Public Hearing (3/31/11) for the proposed intersection and traffic signal improvement: Concord Turnpike at Alewife Brook Parkway

which does in fact include some "minor widening".

The minor widening is probably to fix the idiotic situation where three lanes of traffic get green at the same time....but there are only 2 lanes to move into.

Also, the solution for the whole intersection is obvious, just straighten it and make it a standard intersection.

Itll take up less space AND work better.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

Curses! And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling calendar checkers!