Blogger Writes History of Casey Overpass

Forest Hills resident Clay Harper may have written the definitive Forest Hills historical document.

Forest Hills resident Clay Harper has taken it upon himself to thoroughly research and write the story of the Casey Overpass. Beginning with its original Olmstedian design and ending with his position on the current direction for the area's infrastructure, the Hampstead Road resident has garnered solid feedback on Twitter for the post on his blog, 500 Monkeys with Paintbrushes, which typically features commentary on art. Harper's post features several historical photos he's unearthed - admittedly without permission. The Casey Arborway project will involve the removal of the crumbling overpass in Forest Hills and replacement with an at-grade network of roads sometime in 2014.

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Casey Overpass: Is JP on the Same Page?

With the 25 percent design hearing finished, and a plan on the table, how do you feel about the plan to build an at-grade roadway at the site of the Casey Overpass.

State transportation officials hosted the 25 percent design phase hearing for the Casey Arborway project last night. The project will involve a teardown of the over 60-year-old Casey Overpass bridge above Forest Hills, and the building of an at-grade network of roads in the area. The project will reshape the Forest Hills landscape. Forest Hills MBTA station will undergo a few changes, and Shea Circle will become Shea Square. Some residents oppose the project, others have been in favor, but there has been no shortage of opinions. Now that the project has reached the 25 percent design phase, it is going to move forward. How do you feel the project has progressed thus far? The public had the opportunity to sound off about the project last …

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Liam Sullivan

4:06 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013

Supporting an elevated highway with it's attendant access and exit ramps (which overpass supporters always seem to overlook) is by definition an auto-centric solution. It prioritizes motorists by providing space for a greater volume of cars (stuck in traffic, idling, honking, and spewing vapors) during peak hours, and to speed through at unsafe speeds at other times. It prioritizes motorists by …   more ›

New Date Set for Casey 25% Design Hearing

The original date, Feb. 6, had to be pushed back due to lack of public notice.

Casey Arborway 'Can Continue As Planned'

A state office, reviewing the state’s environmental filing, determined the project can proceeed as planned.

The Casey Arborway project will continue as plan, according to a state office. The Jamaica Plain Gazette reported Friday the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office said the state can move forward with the project as planned. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation filed a report with MEPA for review in November. The Casey Arborway project will remove the dilapidated Casey Overpass and replace it with an at-grade roadway network. The project will drastically change the look of Forest Hills, including a change to Shea Circle, which a state board opposes. The Gazette reports there will be a meeting regarding Casey in February. 

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MassDOT Will Maintain Casey Road at ‘Minimum’

It’s unlikely the state will put too many resources into the overpass before it is demolished, according to a MassDOT official.

  The crumbling Casey Overpass will be demolished next year, but until then the road will remain open as is: cracks, holes and all. The first stages of shutdown are planned for spring 2014, but cars visibly have to drive slow on the bumpy, torn up roadway. Though the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, other city officials and Jamaica Plain residents have (for the most part) settled on the $54 million at-grade Casey Arborway plan, MassDOT is at in impasse over the current state of the overpass: Does it pay to fix what’s there now or does it sit back and wait for problems to arise, hoping the site will stay intact long enough to remain passable until the roadway can be closed for good? “I think we’re going to do the bare minimum,” …

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MassDOT Updates Casey Arborway Project [PDF]

The state’s mock up of how the area will look.

The Casey Overpass will become the Casey Arborway sometime in 2016, with multiple changes to be made in the area. The state has released a mock up of how the Forest Hills area will look once completed.

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Jamaica Plain Residents Discuss Casey Overpass at Department of Transportation Board Meeting

Though the state made its decision in March, the issue still lingers in the minds of some JP residents.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors—newly organized to include seven members—met in Somerville Wednesday, and a handful of Jamaica Plain residents spoke to the board about its decision to tear down the Casey Overpass near the Forest Hills MBTA Station. The state decided in March to take the overpass down and replace it with a network of street-level roads, and the decision has sparked serious debate in the JP community. It seems the issue still lingers in the minds of some JP residents. Heather Carito said, "There is always congestion there any day of the week." She didn't believe bringing the overpass down "will make driving any better," and she said, "I have great concerns with how the process is proceeding…

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What Does Friday's Casey Overpass Traffic Snarl Say for Post-Overpass Future?

When the state shut down the outbound lane of the Casey Overpass on Friday, it caused epic traffic tie-ups. Could it have been a preview of life without the overpass?

The abrupt shut-down of the Casey Overpass lane leading out of Boston on Friday caused epic traffic headaches. Mary Mulvey Jacobson recounts her gridlock nightmare: The back ups started at the intersection of the VFW Parkway and Centre Street near Hebrew Rehab. An utter nightmare. This is what we will have to look forward to when they remove the Casey Overpass. The overpass will be torn down starting next year and replaced with a network of surface roads. Others saw in the incident further proof that the overpass is too decrepit to keep standing any longer than necessary. Liam Sullivan chimed in this way on the JP Patch Facebook page. I hope this convinces Ferris and the Overpassing Forest Hills crew to stop stonewalling the plan to tear …

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Michael Halle

11:16 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sandra, The long-term traffic analysis for the Casey replacement project comes from the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), an independent state planning organization. They are the central authority for planning in 101 cities and towns in the Metro Boston area. Their analysis includes information about both major and minor planned …   more ›

Casey Overpass Outbound Lane Shut Down

Police have shut down the outbound lane of the decaying Casey Overpass. Scanner traffic indicates concern with structural integrity of the bridge.

UPDATE: Saturday, 11:05 a.m. — The state reports that repairs were completed Saturday morning and that as of 4:30 a.m. the overpass was open in both directions. ~~~~~~ UPDATE: Friday, 4:55 p.m. — The Department of Transportation plans to close the outbound lane of the Casey Overpass throughout the Friday evening commute while they work on "bridge deck repairs." Effects from the lane closure are rippling through the area. Motorists are being shunted off the Jamaicaway toward West Roxbury. Police recommend avoiding the area if possible. Here is a bulletin from the Department of Transportation, issed at 4:51 p.m. Friday: The EASTBOUND side of the Casey Overpass, carrying Route 203 over Washington Street and New Washington Street, is closed to…

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Michael Halle

10:14 pm on Saturday, September 1, 2012

Matt, Your take on the Casey design process is, I believe, a misreading of the history of the project. About five years ago, the DCR, then in control of the bridge, found out that the structure had significant defects. They commissioned a report to deal with fixing those defects. The report had no public input and included several serious shortcomings (for instance, not considering a smaller …   more ›

'There's Going to Be Nothing Left' — Jamaica Plain Businessman Worries Casey Project Will Kill Forest Hills Shops

Brad Brown of Blue Frog Bakery said a small sewer project nearly put his Green Street shop out of business. He says something must be done to help Forest Hills businesses survive during the years-long Casey Arborway construction.

The mayor has called it nothing less than a "second Big Dig." It's the Casey Arborway project. And it will make life hard for Forest Hills businesses for years. On Wednesday, as state officials informed a group of local stakeholders about the plans for the various stages of the massive demolition and construction project, one local businessman sounded the alarm. Narrowed roads, closed sidewalks and the general chaos of construction could spell doom to businesses in Forest Hills. "You're going to see a wasteland along Washington Street," said Chef Brad Brown, owner of Blue Frog Bakery. "There's going to be nothing left." Brown recalls how when he opened his Green Street bakery, a small sewer project right in front of his store nearly drove …

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Chris Helms

12:44 pm on Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hi Paul, I'll try to find out about the schedule. There's a crew on Walk Hill today (and they've working really fast, I've got to say.)   more ›