Rebuilding the Longfellow: Keeping Traffic Flowing During Construction
December 3, 2012
As we’ve mentioned here before, the iconic Longfellow Bridge is slated for reconstruction. MassDOT is in the process of choosing a contractor to finalize design of the project and oversee the construction. It’s likely that MassDOT will make a final selection early next year, and that construction will begin in the spring of 2013.
ABC’s Transportation and Construction Committee has been following the project since the earliest parts of the design process. In fact, ABC was part of a stakeholder group that helped finalize the layout of the bridge – the width of the sidewalks and bike lanes, and the number of vehicle lanes going in either direction. But as construction begins, ABC is turning our attention to the important question of traffic mitigation: how can we best maintain the flow of cars, bikes and transit over and around the bridge during the 3 years it will be under construction?
In many ways, we’re reprising one of the key roles ABC played during the Big Dig. One of our primary responsibilities was working with state and city officials to make sure that Boston stayed open for business during that megaproject. The Longfellow Bridge project is not of that scale, but it presents its own unique challenges. First, it’s possible that vehicular traffic will only be allowed in one direction over the bridge during a significant portion of the project. That raises an important question: where will those detoured automobiles go? How the city and state direct traffic around the closure, and how that impacts the roadways and intersections around the Charles River Basin, is a critical question.
To its great credit, MassDOT has committed to maintaining bicycle and pedestrian access in both directions over the bridge throughout the construction. Transit access is another matter. It’s likely that the T will have to bus passengers over the bridge on many weekends during the construction. In addition to be an inconvenience to travelers, the plan will put a strain on the rest of the MBTA system, as buses are diverted from regular routes to serve the tens of thousands of Red Line riders who cross the Longfellow every day.
The Longfellow Project is going to be a major undertaking with ripple effects across Boston, Cambridge, and the Charles River Basin. Our job at ABC is to try to minimize the impacts by advocating for smart traffic management and transit mitigation that shifts travelers out of their cars and onto alternate modes. It’s certainly going to make for an interesting next few years for the committee!
