Reminder: inbound Craigie Drawbridge (Route 28) closed starting tomorrow

[ron_newman]

Starting tomorrow and lasting for about a month, you will not be able to drive a motor vehicle inbound to Boston in front of the Museum of Science. Here is the detour map.



Craigie Drawbridge Rehabilitation Project Closures
All inbound travel lanes on Route 28 southbound
to close at the intersection of Land Boulevard starting Nov. 6th

Effective November 6, 2010, MassDOT will close all inbound travel lanes on Route 28 southbound at the intersection of Land Boulevard as part of the Craigie Drawbridge Rehabilitation Project Phase I. The Craigie Drawbridge carries McGrath O’Brien Highway (Route 28) between Land Blvd. in Cambridge and Leverett Circle in Boston.

Traffic trying to access I-93 and Storrow Drive will be detoured east over the Gilmore (Prison Point) Bridge towards Bunker Hill Community College/City Square. Traffic heading to I-93 Northbound will be directed left through Sullivan Square, while traffic trying to access I-93 Southbound and Route 1 via the Tobin Bridge will be directed to turn right. Traffic traveling to the Charles Circle Area will be detoured westbound down Land Boulevard to the Longfellow Bridge to cross the Charles River. Outbound traffic leaving Boston through Leverett Circle will be unaffected during this period. (see attached detour map) For more information on the Craigie Drawbridge Rehabilitation project, please see http://www.mass.gov/massdot/charlesriverbridges.

Access to the Museum of Science will not be restricted but patrons are advised to approach the Museum from Boston to avoid anticipated traffic congestion on the Cambridge side of the project.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Access during Construction

Full bike and pedestrian access in each direction will be maintained during construction. During Phase I of the drawbridge replacement, only one side of the bridge will be opened and must be shared by inbound and outbound bicycle and pedestrian traffic. A manned and signalized crossing area will be placed at the mid-point of the roadway at the Museum of Science during these phases.

Charles River Channel

As a result of the construction activities, the Charles River Channel will be closed to all marine traffic beginning at 12 AM on November 1, 2010 and will reopen no later than April 27, 2011.

MBTA Public Transportation Options

MassDOT encourages auto commuters to consider taking advantage of alternative transportation opportunities to avoid traffic and increased commuting times. For additional information on alternative commuter options please see www.mbta.com or contact the MBTA Customer Support Services Center at (617) 222-3200 or TTY (617) 222-5146. Customer Service representatives are available Monday-Friday 6:30 AM - 8:00 PM and Saturday-Sunday from 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM.

For transportation news and updates visit the MassDOT website at http://www.mass.gov/massdot, the MassDOT blog at http://www.mass.gov/blog/transportation or follow MassDOT on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/massdot. For more information on the Craigie Drawbridge Rehabilitation project, please see http://www.mass.gov/massdot/charlesriverbridges.

Comments

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Not driving to the museum of science this month sounds like a good plan.

[smammy]

Ironically, the detour routes are generally way faster than going across the Craigie Drawbridge anyway…

one month?

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

Ron, Where did you get the info that the closure will only be for a month? My understanding (i could be wrong) is that it would last till April, 2011.

[ron_newman]

Actually, driving to the museum should be quite easy since you'll have the road all to yourself beyond Land Blvd.

Re: one month?

[ron_newman]

From the state websites I linked to and a meeting I went to. The bridge will temporarily reopen to two-way traffic in December, but will then close again to inbound traffic from February to April.

Re: one month?

[dashford.livejournal.com]

I attended the Ward 1 ResiStat meeting on Wednesday, and Somerville officials (including the Chief of Police) indicated the closure will be more like six weeks rather than four -- that is, until mid-December or so.

They also said they would have five or six police units situated at McGrath Highway intersections during rush hours to discourage commuters from cutting through Somerville neighborhoods to avoid the posted detour routes. In addition to the obvious traffic problems the construction will cause at rush hour, the Chief said there probably will be similar problems on afternoons and evenings of Celtics or Bruins games.

[tober.livejournal.com]

Under normal circumstances, that is often true, however, with the detour in place, it certainly will not be.

[tober.livejournal.com]

Particularly for access to Charles Circle (and North Station), the official detour is guaranteed to be hellish. Another possibility is to follow the official detour for 93S/1N but continue straight on New Rutherford Ave and enter Boston via the Charlestown Bridge - not that that will be much better during rush hour, but it's something to keep in mind as an alternate to the Land Boulevard/Longfellow Bridge route.

Also, if you're heading for 93N, it may be better to utilize 28N (McGrath Hwy) to 38N (Mystic Ave) to 93N instead of 28S to 93N via the official detour.

EDIT: Also, I sure hope they post a police detail at the intersection of 28S with Land Boulevard and Charlestown Ave/Austin St for the duration of the detour in order to facilitate traffic making left turns - or that they temporarily re-signal the intersection to allow for the majority movement being 28S turning left onto Austin St. This intersection currently has a left turn signal and "Left turn on left arrow only" and the left-turning phase is short.

[ron_newman]

When I passed through around 10:30 and 12:30 today, a police officer was controlling the traffic signal box by hand.

Re: one month?

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Is it legal under state law for towns to post "Do Not Enter Except Residents"? Will they let you in if you're visiting a resident?

It always bugs me when the police get to decide who can and can't use public streets.