Massachusetts

[kramie13]

MassDOT is seeking public feedback fe the Mass. Pike's rest areas. Here's wishing they would consider rest areas (or lack thereof) on other highways as well.

https://www.masslive.com/business/2024/06/massdot-seeks-feedback-on-pike-rest-stops.html

Please get rid of those "McDonalds" towers.  They ruin the view out in western MA.

[SectorZ]

MassDOT is seeking public feedback fe the Mass. Pike's rest areas. Here's wishing they would consider rest areas (or lack thereof) on other highways as well.

https://www.masslive.com/business/2024/06/massdot-seeks-feedback-on-pike-rest-stops.html

Please get rid of those "McDonalds" towers.  They ruin the view out in western MA.

Agreed, but getting rid of the McDonald's period would be nice. Use to love things like Roy Rogers on the Pike before the state started torching, um, getting rid of them...

[Ted$8roadFan]

Yes, I remember the Roy Roger's at the Charlton rest area. It would be nice to have some variety.

[vdeane]

Given the way things went on the Thruway, getting rid of McDonald's would most likely just mean changing them all to Burger King.  Maybe a Shake Shack or two, if you're lucky.

[The Ghostbuster]

There used to be Burger King restaurants and Mobil gas stations at the service plazas, although I believe they converted to McDonald's restaurants and Gulf gas stations sometime in the 2000s. Of course, prior to the McDonald's/Gulf conversion, the westbound Lee Service Plaza and the eastbound Blandford Service Plaza only had gas stations. There is still a Burger King (and a Subway, and a Honey Dew Donuts) at the Beverly Rest Area on MA 128.

[jp the roadgeek]

Yes, I remember the Roy Roger's at the Charlton rest area. It would be nice to have some variety.

The Roy's I remember was actually in Sturbridge off I-84 Exit 3 (then Exit 1). 

[Ted$8roadFan]

Sturbridge did have a Roy Roger's. The Charlton east service plaza anlso had one until the new contact/rebuild of the plazas in the early 2000s. 

[shadyjay]

There definitely seemed to be more variety back in the 90s/early 2000s:

https://web.archive.org/web/20000512021754/http://www.masspike.com/t_traveler/service.html
(DON"T CLICK ON THE LINK... IT WON'T OPEN PROPERLY.  COPY TIS ENTIRE ADDRESS INTO YOUR ADDRESS BAR).

Almost forgot about "BankBoston"!

Personally I prefer Burger King to McDonalds.  But be careful of what you wish for... the New York Thruway's plazas are going more high end with places like Chick-Fill-A and Shake Shack, and with much smaller buildings. 

[bluecountry]

Can someone get me a link please of the MATP traffic volumes?  I want to see how it compares from I-84 to Worcester, then Worceter to 495 and east.

[Rothman]

There definitely seemed to be more variety back in the 90s/early 2000s:

https://web.archive.org/web/20000512021754/http://www.masspike.com/t_traveler/service.html
(DON"T CLICK ON THE LINK... IT WON'T OPEN PROPERLY.  COPY TIS ENTIRE ADDRESS INTO YOUR ADDRESS BAR).

Almost forgot about "BankBoston"!

Personally I prefer Burger King to McDonalds.  But be careful of what you wish for... the New York Thruway's plazas are going more high end with places like Chick-Fill-A and Shake Shack, and with much smaller buildings. 

I used to love Double Whoppers.  Then, I grew up and ate at Five Guys.  Recently had a BK burger and it tasted like cardboard.

[kramie13]

Agreed, but getting rid of the McDonald's period would be nice. Use to love things like Roy Rogers on the Pike before the state started torching, um, getting rid of them...

I loved Roy Rogers!  Sadly the Mass Pike and NY State Thruway don't have them anymore 

There used to be Burger King restaurants and Mobil gas stations at the service plazas, although I believe they converted to McDonald's restaurants and Gulf gas stations sometime in the 2000s. Of course, prior to the McDonald's/Gulf conversion, the westbound Lee Service Plaza and the eastbound Blandford Service Plaza only had gas stations. There is still a Burger King (and a Subway, and a Honey Dew Donuts) at the Beverly Rest Area on MA 128.

Is there a reason why the Lee WB and Blandford EB plazas were "gas only, no food"?  It sure made road trips tough back in the day.  Going east this occurred in the 30 mile stretch between exits, and going west you had a long gap between service plazas with restaurants when counting the NY State Thruway plazas - almost 100 miles if you were going west towards Syracuse.

[SectorZ]

Can someone get me a link please of the MATP traffic volumes?  I want to see how it compares from I-84 to Worcester, then Worceter to 495 and east.

https://mhd.public.ms2soft.com/tcds/tsearch.asp?loc=Mhd&mod=

[Ted$8roadFan]

Agreed, but getting rid of the McDonald's period would be nice. Use to love things like Roy Rogers on the Pike before the state started torching, um, getting rid of them...

I loved Roy Rogers!  Sadly the Mass Pike and NY State Thruway don't have them anymore 

There used to be Burger King restaurants and Mobil gas stations at the service plazas, although I believe they converted to McDonald's restaurants and Gulf gas stations sometime in the 2000s. Of course, prior to the McDonald's/Gulf conversion, the westbound Lee Service Plaza and the eastbound Blandford Service Plaza only had gas stations. There is still a Burger King (and a Subway, and a Honey Dew Donuts) at the Beverly Rest Area on MA 128.

Is there a reason why the Lee WB and Blandford EB plazas were "gas only, no food"?  It sure made road trips tough back in the day.  Going east this occurred in the 30 mile stretch between exits, and going west you had a long gap between service plazas with restaurants when counting the NY State Thruway plazas - almost 100 miles if you were going west towards Syracuse.

It looks like those plazas have never had food as far as I could tell. I'm not sure if it's because of market conditions, costs, or local compromises (i.e. cutting a deal with the locals so only one side has food). Given the long distances between plazas and exits, there should be some service.

[kramie13]

Someone's got some 'splainin' to do back at the sign shop. (The correct number should be 45.)

https://www.westernmassnews.com/2023/06/20/getting-answers-mass-pike-missing-exit-46-after-extensive-exit-renumbering-project/

Looking at Google Street View today, this sign has been corrected to read "exit 45" as of October 2023.

[bob7374]

Both the Draft 2025-2029 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) are now available for public comment, the draft plans are available at:
[ur]https://www.mass.gov/capital-investment-plan-cip[/url]

The CIP has descriptions of the current I-90/I-495 interchange project as well as about the upcoming Cape Cod bridge replacements, but no mention of I-95/I-93 interchange improvements in either Canton or Woburn.
The STIP lists sign replacement projects for FY 2025 and 2026, but only has a $7 million 'placeholder' entry for FYs 2027-2029.

[bob7374]

MassDOT has published its Route 2 Corridor Study for public comment. One of the alternatives looked at is the widening of at least the existing freeway portions to 3 lanes in each direction in the long term:
https://www.mass.gov/news/route-2-study-released-for-public-comment

[SectorZ]

MassDOT has published its Route 2 Corridor Study for public comment. One of the alternatives looked at is the widening of at least the existing freeway portions to 3 lanes in each direction in the long term:
https://www.mass.gov/news/route-2-study-released-for-public-comment

Really wish they would do something similar with the Concord/Lincoln parts as well.

[Ted$8roadFan]

It's heartening to see MassDOT beginning the conversation on Improvements to MA-2, one of the most critical (and worst) highways in the state. Between growth in north/central Mass. (aka Devens), people priced out of Boston moving there, and those from central/western Mass. using it as a toll-free alternative to the Mass. pike, the highway simply has to change. Too many deficiencies to mention. I just it hope it happens in my lifetime.

[Ted$8roadFan]

MassDOT has published its Route 2 Corridor Study for public comment. One of the alternatives looked at is the widening of at least the existing freeway portions to 3 lanes in each direction in the long term:
https://www.mass.gov/news/route-2-study-released-for-public-comment

Really wish they would do something similar with the Concord/Lincoln parts as well.

Agreed, but an educated guess of the disposition of the good people of Concord and Lincoln suggest that changes there will be the hardest to come by.

[SectorZ]

MassDOT has published its Route 2 Corridor Study for public comment. One of the alternatives looked at is the widening of at least the existing freeway portions to 3 lanes in each direction in the long term:
https://www.mass.gov/news/route-2-study-released-for-public-comment

Really wish they would do something similar with the Concord/Lincoln parts as well.

Agreed, but an educated guess of the disposition of the good people of Concord and Lincoln suggest that changes there will be the hardest to come by.

And nonetheless, they'll continue to complain about all the people driving thru Concord center to avoid everything when improving 2 would mitigate it. You can't win with them.

[RobbieL2415]

Have they considered extending extending commuter rail service on the Fitchburg Line to Gardner or Athol?

[hotdogPi]

I think there are higher priorities. New Bedford and Fall River are supposed to finish this year (unless it's been pushed back), and the Lowell Line has been perpetually proposed to be extended to Nashua and Manchester. I've also heard discussion about the Haverhill line to Plaistow. I would also like the gap between New London and the nondescript area at the end of the Providence Line to be filled by either of the two companies, but I don't know if there are any actual plans for that.

[bjcolby50]

1) New Bedford and Fall River are proposed to begin in the Fall of 2024 Spring of 2025.
2) There have been plans to bring commuter rail to New Hampshire, but somewhere along the line, it tends to fail to come to reality.
3) MetroNorth is planning to extend the Shore Line East trains as far as Westerly, and the MBTA would be there to meet them.  You could then travel from Boston to New York via commuter rail, albeit a lot longer.

[dantheman]

1) New Bedford and Fall River are proposed to begin in the Fall of 2024.
2) There have been plans to bring commuter rail to New Hampshire, but somewhere along the line, it tends to fail to come to reality.
3) MetroNorth is planning to extend the Shore Line East trains as far as Westerly, and the MBTA would be there to meet them.  You could then travel from Boston to New York via commuter rail, albeit a lot longer.

Where I-495 crosses over the South Coast Rail tracks that will eventually go to Fall River and New Bedford, outside of Middleborough, I've seen a test train running already. Some signal lights west of 495 have also been lit occasionally. That has been a long time coming but it does seem like it's on schedule for later this year.

I believe New Hampshire is usually the reason that 2) hasn't happened yet... they seem to be more than happy to have their residents continue driving to Mass train stations instead of paying to support service in their own state.

I would also hope that service to Springfield (or Pittsfield?) would take priority over a Fitchburg line extension, although the existing freight railroad has been a real pain about increasing passenger service west of Worcester. One train a day, that's often hours late EB because it starts in Chicago, just isn't cutting it.

[SectorZ]

Have they considered extending extending commuter rail service on the Fitchburg Line to Gardner or Athol?

It used to go to Gardner. Freight traffic is also so heavy west of the current stop, with only one rail line, they would conflict constantly. Of course they would have to upgrade the line to deal with commuter trains which would probably involve adding a second set of tracks anyways. There are tons of bridges especially where it follows the Millers River down thru Athol.