From MassDOT:
For Immediate Release
December 20, 2017
Contact: MassDOT Press Office: 857-368-8500
MassDOT: I-90 Allston Interchange Improvement Project
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has announced that in response to community input, it has further extended the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the I-90 Allston Interchange Improvement Project to February 9, 2018.
This extension will ensure all interested parties have ample time to review the document and provide detailed input. MassDOT will use the public feedback to continue to refine the proposals laid out in the DEIR.
In November, 2017, MassDOT officially filed the Draft Environmental Impact Report for this project with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and has subsequently hosted numerous public meetings and technical information sessions in order to provide details to the public on the DEIR.
Information on how to obtain an electronic copy of the DEIR is posted on the project website and paper copies of the DEIR are located at the Copley, Faneuil, Honan-Allston, and Brighton branches of the Boston Public Library, the State Library of Massachusetts, and the Main and Central Square branches of the Cambridge Public Library.
For several years, MassDOT has hosted regular meetings of a public Task Force in order to vet all aspects of the project elements with neighborhood residents, representatives of local organizations, and regional transportation stakeholders. Since the inception of the project, MassDOT has held approximately 30 Task Force and public meetings.
The next public meeting for the I-90 Allston Interchange Improvement Project is as follows:
January 3, 2018, 6:30 p.m.
The Morse School
40 Granite Street, Cambridge
The current viaduct structure carries several lanes of the Massachusetts Turnpike into and out of downtown Boston. The viaduct is the primary route of vehicular travel from Western Massachusetts and Central Massachusetts into and from Boston. The viaduct is outmoded and deteriorated, and MassDOT annually spends approximately $800,000 to maintain the viaduct in usable condition. The viaduct currently is safe for travel.
The replacement project is now at approximately 15% design, with final design anticipated to be complete during 2019, when MassDOT would seek to procure a construction contractor. Construction work and related activities would then be expected to begin in 2020.
For more information, including information about how to obtain a copy of the DEIR, please visit the project website: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/HighlightedProjects/AllstonI90InterchangeImprovementProject.aspx