Highways
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Guest Column: To Halt Wasteful Highways, America Needs a ‘Road Review’
In February, the government of Wales announced that it was scrapping all major road-building projects. The move came after a year-long “roads review” in which a government-appointed panel systematically reviewed the nation’s road-building program in light of its climate and environmental goals.
May 24, 2023
Under Harvard’s Influence, MassDOT Approves $86 Million Contract to Rehab Allston Highway Viaduct
"It’s concerning that Harvard, an institution that has historically been opaque in their plans to develop in Allston, has control over the major infrastructure that impacts thousand of residents here, without having a clear and transparent process to share what those conversations are," said Galen Mook, a member of the Allston Multimodal Project's public task force.
March 21, 2023
Boston Plans New Parkland to Bridge the Turnpike’s Scar Through Chinatown
The planning effort will focus on four blocks along the Interstate 90 trench, from Arlington and Tremont Streets in the west to Harrison Avenue in the east.
March 8, 2023
Boston, North Adams Win Federal Funds to Heal Highway Blight
The USDOT awarded over $2 million to the cities of Boston and North Adams to address the blight and pollution of I-90 and Route 2, respectively.
March 1, 2023
Somerville Preps Petitions for Lower Speed Limits on State-Controlled ‘Corridor of Death’
A new roadway safety law enacted at the end of December created a new process by which local municipalities could petition state agencies to reduce speed limits on state-owned roadways within their boundaries.
February 7, 2023
Washington Snubs MassDOT’s Proposed Cape Cod Highway Expansion
In addition to building new, 6-lane bridges over the Cape Cod Canal, MassDOT is also proposing to add more lanes to connecting highways like Route 6 and Sandwich Road, build a new mile-long bypass road, widen intersections, and build new highway-style interchanges on both sides of the canal.
January 5, 2023
MassDOT Is Demolishing a Highway to Give Fall River Its Waterfront Back
MassDOT's Route 79 demolition and associated improvements on nearby surface streets are expected to be complete by 2025.
December 21, 2022
An Inside Look at Federal Highway Officials’ Efforts to Encourage Safer Streets
The annual conference of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) conference in Boston earlier this month offered a sort of homecoming for Stephanie Pollack, the former leader of MassDOT who left for Washington in early 2021 to lead the Federal Highway Administration in President Biden's administration.
September 28, 2022
Feds Finally Using Highway Money to Tear Down Highways
“This stretch of I-375 cuts like a gash through the neighborhood, one of many examples I have seen in communities across the country where a piece of infrastructure has become a barrier,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
September 22, 2022
It’s Not Just the T: Analysis Finds Unusually Large Backlog in Commonwealth’s Bridge Repair Needs
Roughly one in nine bridge crossings in Massachusetts occurs on a bridge where engineers have found serious problems with weight-bearing structural elements that need repair or replacement, according to a new analysis by MassBudget.
August 31, 2022
