Mary Connaughton

The Mass. Pike is in for some massive disruption. Are we ready?

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The Boston Globe

By Mary Connaughton and Jim Aloisi

May 31, 2019

Beginning this summer, commuters are in for longer rides as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation prepares to extend the Prudential tunnel under parts of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street to make way for an air-rights real estate development.

Extending the tunnel involves upgrading and expanding ventilation systems — fans, controls and other electrical components — as well as installing piles and set beams to support a deck. These activities require Massachusetts Turnpike lane closures, both temporary and long-term, to create work areas. And with work areas come speed reductions to ensure worker safety over the estimated 16-month project.

The project will, inescapably, worsen traffic conditions on a stretch of highway already in crisis congestion conditions. This is bad news for MetroWest and Worcester-area commuters. And that’s just the beginning. Read more

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