Traffic Advisory
Winter Street Bridge Project Update - October 17, 2011
This Friday, October 21st at 9:30AM the ramp from Winter Street onto I-95 Northbound will be closed in order to complete work on the Collector/Distributor Road at Exit 27A. Those who wish to access I-95 Northwill be detoured to the Exit 27B onramp on Wyman Street. This closure will be in place through the weekend.
MassDOT plans on having the Collector/Distributor road and the newly-configured Exit 27 A-B open for the Monday, October 24th morning commute.
Beginning Monday, Exit 27B will no longer be accessible directly from the highway. Drivers who wish to use Exit 27B will exit I-95N onto the new Collector/Distributor road which begins at Exit 27A and will proceed down the C/D road, under the Winter Street Bridge, and out to Exit 27B. Please refer to the Winter St Bridge Final Alignment Plan 
to see a diagram of the C/D lane. Please also note that the C/D road will be limited to one lane through October. By the first week of November the project team hopes to have both lanes open.
Winter Street Bridge Project Update - October 4, 2011
How many times have you asked yourself the question, "When are they going to finish construction on the Winter Street Bridge?" Well, after far too many years of wondering, the end is finally in sight.
The MassDOT project that has gone through many stops and starts since it first got underway in 2005 is nearing completion. As of this week traffic is flowing over the new bridge in both directions and the temporary bridge that so many of us have grown accustomed to using has been disassembled and put into storage for future re-use.
For the next few weeks the majority of work will take place at the intersection of Winter Street, Wyman Street, and Totten Pond Road, where crews are putting finishing touches on new turn lanes, sidewalks, signal installation, and roadbed replacement.
The final crucial element of the project will be the completion of the collector/distributor road on the northbound side of the highway running directly underneath the bridge. When completed, the collector/distributor road will dramatically reduce the number of vehicles backed up at exits 27A and 27B on Route 128 North during the morning commute. The new bridge will provide 175% greater roadway capacity and will lead to fewer delays and less stressful commutes.
Another notable improvement is the synchronization of traffic lights at the intersections on the east and west sides of the new bridge. Loop detectors installed in the roadway at each intersection will allow the signals to communicate with each other, providing more intelligent signal timing that will improve the flow of traffic.
So now for the question we're all asking - when will all the work be complete? According to Kirk Elwell, MassDOT Resident Engineer for the Winter Street Bridge project, we can expect final paving of the bridge and surrounding intersections by the first week of October. The project team also hopes to have the collector distributor road and new exit configuration to be open by mid-October - just in time for winter!
You can find the plan here: Winter St Bridge Final Alignment Plan
Needham Traffic Alert: Great Plain Avenue / I-95 Bridge Information
As part of the I-95 Add-A-Lane project, the Great Plain Avenue bridge will be restricted to West Bound (Dedham to Needham) traffic ONLY effective at 11:00 am Monday, June 13, 2011. The detour route for the East Bound traffic will be onto I-95 South Bound to Route 135, then getting back on I-95 North Bound to Great Plain Avenue exit. Traffic signals have been installed at Route 135 and Lyons Street as well as Route 135 and the I-95 North Bound off ramps to help control the extra traffic. This detour will be in effect 24 hours a day and is expected to be in this condition for 18 months.
Route 128/I-95 Resurfacing Project
This week (May 9th), MassDOT will begin work on the resurfacing of Route 128/I-95 in the City of Waltham. The Project extends from the Newton/Waltham city boundary to the Waltham/Lexington boundary at exit 28B. The majority of this work will be done during night shifts, which is officially from 8:30 pm to 5 am. During the first year, the project team will focus on resurfacing the roadway on the northbound side and on areas along the Cambridge Reservoir on the southbound stretch of highway.
Lane closures and detours will be conducted according to the project’s Traffic Management Plan. Mass DOT is working close with Contractors to minimize or completely avoid any inconvenience to the public. All work is scheduled to be completed by April, 2014.
Totten Pond Road Sewer Replacement Project
The City of Waltham has contracted with Fed Corp. Construction to replace sewer mains along Totten Pond Road. The scope of the construction area extends from #240 Totten Pond Road to the manhole just west of Lexington Street, along Arcadia Street from Van Vechten Street to Humboldt Street and Humboldt Street from Arcadia to Marlborough Street. This contract also includes replacement of all sewer and water services along these reaches of sewer, paving, surface restoration and clean up of the entire project area. Paving and surface restoration will be completed next spring to allow the roadbed to settle after excavation.
Work is scheduled to begin on May 16th and will continue through the summer with completion expected in early September. Work is permitted Monday-Friday between 9AM-4PM. Police traffic details will be in place during the work day and the City has assured us that One travel lane in each direction will be open at all times. There will be no interruption of sewer or water service to the office parks and businesses further north on Totten Pond Rd.
You can find the plan here: Winter St Bridge Final Alignment Plan
The PDF drawing may be enlarged to show the amount of lanes and final traffic pattern for the area.
Completion
The anticipated completion of this project is October 2011.
A video update on the Winter Street Bridge Project, courtesy of Waltham Newswatch (WCAC-TV 
)
Future Route 128 Construction Projects
On November 3, 2010 City of Newton Associate City Engineer Clint Schuckel gave a presentation to the Public Safety and Transportation Committee regarding the planned widening project on 128 from Kendrick Street to Route 9. This portion of the 128 widening project is estimated to start in the Fall of 2012.
The presentation can be viewed here: 128 Add-A-Lane project