'It's Coming, It's Bad': Next Phase Of Comm Ave Bridge Project Starts Thursday
BOSTON (CBS) - The next phase of the Comm. Ave Bridge Project starts Thursday. If you ask Mass DOT what you should do, their advice is simple: stay away.
It's coming and it's bad. That's what signs say about the project. The Department of Transportation isn't sugar coating it for commuters at all.
"You should do whatever you can to be someplace else. If you do have to come here, adjust your plans, seek alternate routes, work from home if you can, do everything you can to avoid the area," MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said.
Some are already getting the message.
"You can just tell, the hustle and bustle around it is going to be kind of congested," Jackie Bayer said.
Closures are starting this Thursday the 26th to August 11th. This time, it's the westbound side of the bridge.
"Closed to vehicular traffic, you'll have some access for bikes and pedestrians, but unlike last year BU bridge will be a part of the construction zone so more constraints on that," Gulliver added.
More than 200,000 people travel over or under the Comm. Ave. Bridge each day. According to Mass DOT, that's enough to fill Fenway Park five times.
"It's one of the most complicated transportation nodes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the Green Line and Commonwealth Avenue coming together over the turnpike and commuter rail and Amtrak tracks," Stephanie Pollack explained.
The new bridge can be looked at as it waits in a staging area. Commuters realize it needs to be done, however, and right now their hopes are high.
"They say it's three weeks so hopefully it's three weeks and that's not too bad," Mike McLaughlin said.
"The other side I think went pretty smoothly so I think since that went well, I have hope that this will be kind of fast and smooth," Bayer explained.
All the closures are broken down by date on both the MBTA and MassDOT's website. As for the Mass Pike, expect the lanes to be cut in half. At some points only three lanes will be open all the way across.
