Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials announced new safety improvements at the Newton Corner interchange of Interstate Highway 90, in a presentation Wednesday night.
MassDOT is installing a new traffic signal at the end of I-90 to deal with congestion issues.
Christine Trearchis, a consultant from VHB, a civil engineering company based in Watertown, Mass., said the new signal will help control the flow of rush-hour traffic.
“We can expect this to improve the I-90 eastbound off-ramp by up to 1,200 feet during peak periods, as well as to help mitigate the weave for vehicles that are traveling from I-90 eastbound to that off-ramp,” Trearchis said.
Jim Kersten, another VHB consultant for MassDOT, said the Newton Corner area is a priority for highway officials, because of its risk of crashes.
“You know, this is also a high-crash location, as I’m sure everybody in the meeting understands,” Carson said. “They’ve experienced that really dangerous weave that happens between cars coming down Center Ave and coming off the I-90 at the off-ramp.”
Additionally, MassDOT plans to upgrade signals and equipment all throughout the Newton Corner corridor. This will include repainting road markings, servicing signals, and recalibrating traffic detection systems, according to the MassDot presentation.
Construction will begin on Sept. 30, and take place from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. The construction is expected to last approximately one month. Total lane closure should only occur for final paving, most other operations should allow for keeping another lane open.
The plan is expected to cost somewhere north of $400,000, Carson said, but MassDOT is searching for more funding from the State Transportation Improvement Program, an initiative from the federal government that finances state infrastructure improvements.
All of these improvements are part of an initiative to improve transportation through Newton Corner, named the “Newton Corner Long-Term Planning Study,” a joint venture between MassDOT and the city of Newton.
“This effort will look at the development of long term alternatives for the area,” Trearchis said. “It will be a more detailed look at the Newton corner area and the I-90 corridor beyond the immediate exit 127 interchange. The study team is going to develop and evaluate alternatives on a long term planning horizon that are beyond the scope of a short or mid-term effort.”
Leave a Reply