Massachusetts

[DJStephens]

This may deserve it's own thread but I'll post here.  What's with the I-93 Wilmington 4 to 3 "lane drop?". If I remember correctly breakdown (or shoulder) use during rush hour 6-9AM and 3-6PM was presented by the Commonwealth as a temporary solution about 25 years ago to the FHWA. I thought they said it was okay but only as a temp. solution.  So now this bottleneck creates problems well beyond the times allowed, it really provides no relief because traffic is already messed up. What's really embarrassing is when you get in to NH now it's 4 lanes.

Remember that lane "drop" in the mid eighties, when traveling up to a job in the Lawrence MA area.  Am guessing that I-93 had been built, in the late fifties, in that configuration, the four lane NB cross section, with the drop, in it's original construction.    It's something that should have been addressed, in the seventies, likely during the Edward King administration.  Am of belief had he (King) been the governor, for the entire time the other guy was (the Greek one) the state would have had a far better, and more complete system today.

IIRC, in the past, the state tried to alleviate traffic congestion without widening on a few six lane highways (some sections of I-93 and I-95/128) by allowing the use of the breakdown lanes, at least during rush hour. I-95 south of MA-9 used to allow it until the widening project was completed a couple of years ago. Perhaps the use of the breakdown lanes took some pressure off of the need for widening, but that isn't the case anymore.

Yes the original "Salvucci" lanes were on that notorious stretch of 128, between Rte 9 and Rte 24.  It appeared that grading and gantries in the "wide" median stretch were prepared for widening in the mid seventies, that never happened until decades later.   

[bob7374]

MassDOT has advertised the sign replacement project for MA 25 (as of Jan. 28). The work is to start in the spring. You would hope this would not take too long to complete. Also, according to MassDOT's ProjectInfo site, work has also started on the I-190 sign replacement project which is all of 3% complete.

Among the files you can download on the MassDOT project page is a new one allowing you to request a copy of the plan files, after the project is awarded. While still not as useful as having the plans posted online as other states do, it's a small step in the right direction.
https://www.commbuys.com/bso/external/bidDetail.sdo?docId=BD-23-1030-0H100-0H002-83819&external=true&parentUrl=bid

[hotdogPi]

I took some photos on my 9-mile walk from downtown Haverhill to Yang Ming II in Amesbury along MA 110. Of the five I uploaded to Flickr, one is here, in the Signs with Design Errors thread, and one is here, in the Oil/Gas Prices thread (at $0.009 per gallon). The other three are below.

Merrimac Fire Department can't spell Pilgrim (I checked, the actual location is spelled correctly)


Apostrophe's for verb's.


Speed limit 10. This is a typical residential road, specifically Orchard Street in Merrimac, just the slightest bit west of downtown.


I also saw Merrimac Chess Club where they claimed they were "knights of the square table", a house that decorated their bushes as Valentine's Day gnomes, and some turkeys that I couldn't get a photo of because it was after sunset.

[bob7374]

Another weekend, another short route sign replacement contract advertised, this time for I-295 (and exit signs for it on US 1):
Bid Opening: 3/28/2023 2:00PM
Location: ATTLEBORO - NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH
Description: Guide and Traffic Sign Replacement along Interstate 295 and a Section of Route 1
District: 5 Ad Date: 2/18/2023 Section Response: Const Project Value: $600,630.00
CDs, Plans & Specs Available: No
Federal Aid No.: HSI-295S(018)X Project Number: 609063 Project Type: Signing - Structural

[hotdogPi]

The south end of MA 108 has been redesigned to be a T-intersection rather than being at a shallow angle. Normally, this is inconsequential, but since MA 108 is under a mile long, it might change the length of MA 108 by a small percentage (guessing between 0.1% and 1.0%, and don't know which direction). Google Street View has not been updated yet.

[bob7374]

The schedule for the rehabilitation project for Boston's Sumner Tunnel has changed, closures will continue into 2024:
https://www.mass.gov/news/new-sumner-tunnel-full-closure-schedule-changing-to-reduce-impact-on-travelers-this-summer

[SectorZ]

The south end of MA 108 has been redesigned to be a T-intersection rather than being at a shallow angle. Normally, this is inconsequential, but since MA 108 is under a mile long, it might change the length of MA 108 by a small percentage (guessing between 0.1% and 1.0%, and don't know which direction). Google Street View has not been updated yet.

So you mean if I'm cycling on 108 south onto 110 west, I can't merge in at 25 MPH anymore?

[hotdogPi]

The south end of MA 108 has been redesigned to be a T-intersection rather than being at a shallow angle. Normally, this is inconsequential, but since MA 108 is under a mile long, it might change the length of MA 108 by a small percentage (guessing between 0.1% and 1.0%, and don't know which direction). Google Street View has not been updated yet.

So you mean if I'm cycling on 108 south onto 110 west, I can't merge in at 25 MPH anymore?

This is correct.

[bob7374]

The new 2023 Mass. state transportation map is available to download at:
https://www.mass.gov/official-transportation-map

The only change I noticed from the previous edition (besides the photo of the new governor) is that they have added the still under construction Dedham Street interchange (Exit 25) to I-95 south of Boston. The previous error of listing the exit numbers for MA 28 on Cape Cod is still there.

[RobbieL2415]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

[pderocco]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

[pderocco]

The new 2023 Mass. state transportation map is available to download at:
https://www.mass.gov/official-transportation-map

The only change I noticed from the previous edition (besides the photo of the new governor) is that they have added the still under construction Dedham Street interchange (Exit 25) to I-95 south of Boston. The previous error of listing the exit numbers for MA 28 on Cape Cod is still there.

Wow! Massachusetts is actually going to build one freeway ramp! How ambitious.

It's amazing how long it took them to up 128 to eight lanes up to Highland Ave, even though we were driving in the breakdown lanes in rush hour when I started driving fifty years ago. Massachusetts has a toy road department, compared to California where I live now.

[Roadgeekteen]

The new 2023 Mass. state transportation map is available to download at:
https://www.mass.gov/official-transportation-map

The only change I noticed from the previous edition (besides the photo of the new governor) is that they have added the still under construction Dedham Street interchange (Exit 25) to I-95 south of Boston. The previous error of listing the exit numbers for MA 28 on Cape Cod is still there.

Wow! Massachusetts is actually going to build one freeway ramp! How ambitious.

It's amazing how long it took them to up 128 to eight lanes up to Highland Ave, even though we were driving in the breakdown lanes in rush hour when I started driving fifty years ago. Massachusetts has a toy road department, compared to California where I live now.

The Dedham Street Interchange has been 1/4 done (Dedham St to I-95 South) for basically my entire life. It's always been one of my roadgeek fascinations. Cool to see that they are finally finishing the interchange.

[pderocco]

The new 2023 Mass. state transportation map is available to download at:
https://www.mass.gov/official-transportation-map

Do you mean there are PDF maps between the 2009 one in their archives and the the 2023 one?

It's nice that this latest one isn't raster graphics, so there's no limit to the resolution you can render it at.

[Ted$8roadFan]

The new 2023 Mass. state transportation map is available to download at:
https://www.mass.gov/official-transportation-map

The only change I noticed from the previous edition (besides the photo of the new governor) is that they have added the still under construction Dedham Street interchange (Exit 25) to I-95 south of Boston. The previous error of listing the exit numbers for MA 28 on Cape Cod is still there.

Wow! Massachusetts is actually going to build one freeway ramp! How ambitious.

It's amazing how long it took them to up 128 to eight lanes up to Highland Ave, even though we were driving in the breakdown lanes in rush hour when I started driving fifty years ago. Massachusetts has a toy road department, compared to California where I live now.

Nothing gets built in Massachusetts with ease anymore.

[RobbieL2415]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

[RobbieL2415]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

My concern is safety. Ambulances routinely have to resort to driving on the soft shoulder on the super 2 stretch when it's backed up. If, God forbid, there is a civil emergency on the Cape, how would MassDOT expect everyone to evacuate in a timely fashion? There's no major airport on the Outer Cape, no rail service either.

At the very least, the super 2 stretch should have full shoulders.

[Roadgeekteen]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

[SectorZ]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

It's weird that I feel that the ones in Massachusetts are terrifying compared to the New Hampshire ones. For a while I lived close enough to the MA 2/US 202 bypass of Athol and Orange and the NH 101 Milford bypass, heavily using both, and I feel that the safety difference is night and day. The ones in Mass feel like cattle chutes. Oddly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are allowed on all the NH ones except for the tiny super-2 portion of the Spaulding Turnpike, in Mass they are treated just like other freeways in that regard.

[Rothman]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

It's weird that I feel that the ones in Massachusetts are terrifying compared to the New Hampshire ones. For a while I lived close enough to the MA 2/US 202 bypass of Athol and Orange and the NH 101 Milford bypass, heavily using both, and I feel that the safety difference is night and day. The ones in Mass feel like cattle chutes. Oddly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are allowed on all the NH ones except for the tiny super-2 portion of the Spaulding Turnpike, in Mass they are treated just like other freeways in that regard.

Remember MA 2 before the reflective bollards were installed?  Pepperidge Farms remembers...

*Clutches steering wheel hoping the oncoming truck is not driven by Christopher Walken in Annie Hall*

[SectorZ]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

It's weird that I feel that the ones in Massachusetts are terrifying compared to the New Hampshire ones. For a while I lived close enough to the MA 2/US 202 bypass of Athol and Orange and the NH 101 Milford bypass, heavily using both, and I feel that the safety difference is night and day. The ones in Mass feel like cattle chutes. Oddly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are allowed on all the NH ones except for the tiny super-2 portion of the Spaulding Turnpike, in Mass they are treated just like other freeways in that regard.

Remember MA 2 before the reflective bollards were installed?  Pepperidge Farms remembers...

*Clutches steering wheel hoping the oncoming truck is not driven by Christopher Walken in Annie Hall*

I do. I think they were installed after I first drove on it myself (probably 1996) so my terror was only as a passenger. I don't think I was on it more than a few times until I moved to Fitchburg in 2005, then was on it a ton, and there was a lot of upgrades to it during the 9 years I was living there, including the small bypass around the paper mill in Erving.

The bollards are a joke anyways, mostly because 1) they won't do anything and 2) for some reason only the stretch concurrent with 202 was deemed important enough for them

I will say the most terrifying thing to cycle on was 2 from the Erving paper mill west for a few miles where it runs beside the Millers River, and there is like no other route that isn't a multi-mile detour with 800+ feet of additional climbing.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

It's weird that I feel that the ones in Massachusetts are terrifying compared to the New Hampshire ones. For a while I lived close enough to the MA 2/US 202 bypass of Athol and Orange and the NH 101 Milford bypass, heavily using both, and I feel that the safety difference is night and day. The ones in Mass feel like cattle chutes. Oddly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are allowed on all the NH ones except for the tiny super-2 portion of the Spaulding Turnpike, in Mass they are treated just like other freeways in that regard.

Remember MA 2 before the reflective bollards were installed?  Pepperidge Farms remembers...

*Clutches steering wheel hoping the oncoming truck is not driven by Christopher Walken in Annie Hall*

Super-2s in Massachusetts are scary for a few reasons: our population and traffic levels mean that they shouldn't be Super-2s at all; the usual M*hole driver image; the lack of room for passing; insufficient shoulders; the fact that many lack sufficient accel/decel lanes; and so on. The bollards on MA-2 are better than nothing, but still not good enough. On MA-2 in particular, I know a number of folks use it to travel from Western Mass to Boston to avoid Turnpike tolls, and to go to and from UMass and the Five Colleges to points north.

[Rothman]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

It's weird that I feel that the ones in Massachusetts are terrifying compared to the New Hampshire ones. For a while I lived close enough to the MA 2/US 202 bypass of Athol and Orange and the NH 101 Milford bypass, heavily using both, and I feel that the safety difference is night and day. The ones in Mass feel like cattle chutes. Oddly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are allowed on all the NH ones except for the tiny super-2 portion of the Spaulding Turnpike, in Mass they are treated just like other freeways in that regard.

Remember MA 2 before the reflective bollards were installed?  Pepperidge Farms remembers...

*Clutches steering wheel hoping the oncoming truck is not driven by Christopher Walken in Annie Hall*

Super-2s in Massachusetts are scary for a few reasons: our population and traffic levels mean that they shouldn't be Super-2s at all; the usual M*hole driver image; the lack of room for passing; insufficient shoulders; the fact that many lack sufficient accel/decel lanes; and so on. The bollards on MA-2 are better than nothing, but still not good enough. On MA-2 in particular, I know a number of folks use it to travel from Western Mass to Boston to avoid Turnpike tolls, and to go to and from UMass and the Five Colleges to points north.

I know people who commute to Boston daily from at least Gardner (and a very few idiots that do so from near Amherst).  As they put it, you're facing the Sun both ways, so get a good pair of sunglasses.

[MATraveler128]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

My concern is safety. Ambulances routinely have to resort to driving on the soft shoulder on the super 2 stretch when it's backed up. If, God forbid, there is a civil emergency on the Cape, how would MassDOT expect everyone to evacuate in a timely fashion? There's no major airport on the Outer Cape, no rail service either.

At the very least, the super 2 stretch should have full shoulders.

Of course this is Cape Cod we're talking about here. It is the same place that dragged their feet on exit renumbering. It won't ever happen because residents of the Cape are ultra NIMBYs that believe that the slightest change will take away from the character of the Cape. The LOCALS call the thing "Suicide Alley"  due to the lack of safety, yet they shoot down any attempt to fix them. People don't come to the Cape to see the freeway.