The notice below pertains to the overpass from Storrow towards Fenway and Longwood.
We are also working closely with neighbors of the project and with MassDOT to control the local noise and disruption caused by the project.
Effective Monday, Sept. 29, the Bowker Overpass will be reduced to two travel lanes inbound, or southbound, toward the Fenway, Boylston Street, and the Longwood Medical and Academic Area; and one travel lane outbound, or northbound, toward Storrow Drive.
The restrictions are required for the ongoing repair project to upgrade the structural capacity of the existing bridge deck. This configuration is based on traffic analyses that reflect higher volumes traveling in the inbound or southbound direction in the morning peak hours and will remain in place for the duration of the project, which is scheduled to last through the spring of 2016.
In order to complete the implementation of the lane restrictions, beginning on Monday, Sept. 29, through Friday, Oct. 3, the Storrow Drive eastbound offramp to the Bowker Overpass will be closed between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to facilitate the installation of temporary concrete barrier for the long-term closure. As the barrier installation progresses, initial demolition procedures will begin.
To support demolition and construction activities on the bridge, daily lane closures on Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue will take place between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Multiple lanes will not be taken until after 9:30 a.m. on Beacon Street and Commonwealth Ave. Additionally, the Storrow Drive offramp to Charlesgate West will be reduced to a single 10 foot lane between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
What happened to the idea of removing the Bowker Overpass?
There was a lot of interest in doing that, from neighbors as well as park advocates. The idea was thoroughly vetted in a series of meetings last year and earlier this year. The idea has enormous appeal and perhaps in conjunction with very major new road connections, it might be feasible. But for the short and medium term, the consensus among state transportation planners is that this overpass is an essential connection — forcing the over 50,000 cars that travel across it daily to interact with Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue would cause a cascading series of bottlenecks. See my previous post reporting on these meetings.