Politics & Government
Life After the Casey Overpass: Down to 4 Options
Two bridge options and two at-grade options were presented during yesterday's public meeting in Jamaica Plain about what should replace the overpass.
After about a dozen public and private meetings, residents and engineers are now considering which of two different bridges or two different at-grade alternatives will best replace the worn-out Monsignor William J. Casey Overpass. [See visuals here.]
Reaffirming that the life of the Casey Overpass is over, engineers pointed out yesterday during an open community meeting at the English High School that they are looking for an option that meets “mobility and livability” standards.
As David Holzman of Roslindale observed posters displaying the construction options, he said he was glad the overpass would soon be gone.
“I’m a bicyclist, so I’m interested in designs that make it easy to get through traffic,” Holzman said.
If the community chooses to build a bridge, they will have to decide between a split bridge or a single bridge.
The split bridge alternative consists of building two single-lane bridges: one with traffic heading eastbound and one with traffic heading westbound.
“If there’s a new bridge, there’s no need for a wide, long bridge. It doesn’t have to be as high either,” said Dennis Baker, bridge and traffic engineer of the Casey Overpass Project.
Baker said the current overpass is highly elevated because it was constructed to go over the MBTA’s Orange Line tracks, which used to run above-ground; the train no longer passes beneath the overpass. He said the current bridge is about 85 feet wide and 1,600 feet long. A new bridge can be about 41 feet wide and 950 feet long, Baker said.
In the split bridge option, engineers modeled bicycle and pedestrians' sidewalk. However, they said this option can create shadows and limit the opportunities to grow anything beneath the bridges.
In order to minimize shadows, the single-bridge approach was presented. Baker said the single bridge would be constructed in the median of the at-grade roadways but perhaps without a pedestrian sidewalk.
Bernard Doherty is part of the Working Advisory Group (WAG), a 37-member group composed of residents and business and community leaders. He said the group preferred the single bridge option because this alternative was “less intrusive” and had less shadow and more open space.
For the at-grade alternatives, residents and engineers will have to decide between a wide- or narrow-median approach. Both options will have three travel lanes in each direction.
The wide median approach would eliminate east and westbound left turns to Washington and South streets, engineers said. To accommodate this impediment, a U-turn movement would be allowed down the roads. This alternative would also reconfigure parts of the MBTA’s 39 bus route.
Franklyn Salimbene, 65, who sat in the high school’s auditorium listening to the proposal, questioned the engineers about the need to restructure parts of the 39 bus route.
Salimbene said that moving the bus route further along the roadways would delay running time, and that it is an issue Centre Street residents have been trying to resolve.
Engineers said they had real estate flexibility and would work with the MBTA regarding this issue.
The narrow median approach, about 14-feet wide, would not make major changes to the 39 bus route, according to the engineers.
WAG members Kevin Wolfson and Nina Brown said they would prefer a “medium median”, with shortened pedestrian crossings and a median wide enough to plant trees.
Brown said that, looking at a long-term alternative, it will be easier to maintain an at-grade option than a bridge option.
“I’m a passionate supporter of the at-grade alternative and hope it’s given your consideration,” said Brown.
Paul King, MassDOT project manager, said it is important that a decision is reached soon because if a design is not presented in time, funding for the project could be lost.
The Casey Overpass Project is part of the $3 billion Patrick-Murray Accelerated Bridge Program, which plans to repair or replace more than 200 bridges statewide within an eight-year span.
Engineers told the public that all four options would work better than the current roadways. They also said the options were devised considering projected traffic flow 25 years from now. None of the options was presented in its final stage; all are subject to modifications.
Engineers and WAG members will meet again to discuss community input and to work on more finalized options. Another open meeting is expected to take place in late October.