Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation

MassDOT Aeronautics: Runway Repairs

MassDOT's Aeronautics Division during summer 2010 performed much needed statewide crack repair and pavement marking projects for 11 of the Commonwealth’s privately-owned/public-use airports.  Runway repairs are shown underway at Great Barrington, left. 

The project assists privately-owned/public-use airports in maintaining the safety and serviceability of their paved runways. 

Hoyle, Tanner, and Associates (HTA) of Manchester, New Hampshire and Hi-Lite Markings, Inc of Adams Center, New York assisted. 

The project included the following airports: Falmouth, Great Barrington, Hanson-Cranland, Hopedale-Draper Industrial Park, Northampton, Plum-Island/Newburyport, Spencer Airport, Sterling, Stow-Minuteman Air Field, Tanner-Hiller Airport and new pavement markings only at Marlboro Airport. 

The $1 million project was funded through MassDOT's Airport Safety and Maintenance Program. 

MassDOT Boosts Somerville Community Path

Governor Deval Patrick this week joined state and local officials to announce a $490,000 MassDOT Transit Oriented Development (TOD) grant to the City of Somerville to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements near the privately-funded, multi-family residential MaxPak development project.

"This important investment illustrates how prioritizing projects near public transportation can address the economic vitality of communities while creating private investments, and jobs today and for tomorrow," said Governor Patrick.

MassDOT's TOD Infrastructure and Housing Support Program ("TOD Bond Program") is intended to help create more compact, mixed-use, walkable development near transit stations. The TOD Bond Program provides financing for pedestrian improvements, bicycle facilities, housing projects and parking facilities within a quarter-mile of commuter rail, subway or bus stations, as well as ferry terminals.

The former 5.5-acre Brownfield site has been reclaimed and permitted as a TOD project for 199 residential units; 25 of which will be designated as affordable housing. The $50 million project is entirely funded by KSS Realty. Construction has started on the MaxPak site with demolition underway to prepare for construction of the first 15 housing units.

The MaxPak project is adjacent to the planned Green Line Extension, which will extend MBTA service to three densely-populated municipalities with high demand for public transit. The Green Line Extension is a significant economic development and transportation access improvement project for this key region of the Commonwealth.

As a result of the redevelopment of the MaxPak site, an extension of an existing Community Path is planned, encouraging alternative methods of transportation. The TOD grant funds a Community Path extension from Cedar Street to Lowell Street.

Learn more about Massachusetts Works. 

Governor Patrick Highlights Route 2 Improvements

As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's historic Massachusetts Works program to promote job growth and long-term economic recovery, Governor Deval Patrick today joined with Congressman Olver and local leaders in the Town of Orange to highlight ongoing road and bridge improvement projects totaling $27 million along Route 2 in Orange, Erving, Gill, Athol, Wendell, and Phillipston.

 

The $11.7 million Route 2 project in Orange is reconstructing and making safety improvements along 5 miles of Route 2, including rehabilitating and widening the Route 2 Bridge over Route 122.  The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  

The Patrick-Murray Administration's MassDOT is widening the shoulder, extending the existing climbing lanes, and improving the acceleration and deceleration lanes and the alignments at various on/off ramps. In addition, the Route 2 Bridge over Route 122 will be widened and the superstructure replaced to accommodate the proposed widened climbing lane.

The Route 2 project in Orange, scheduled for completion in 2012, is among six projects in MassDOT's Route 2 Safety Improvement Initiative. For several years, MassDOT has partnered with the Route 2 Task force to implement improvements along the entire corridor, working from a regional perspective to reach consensus among the communities about how the corridor should look as a whole.

Other projects include:  

-  $2.5M reconstruction of Route 2 in Erving from River Road to Old Route 2.

-  $1.5M construction of a new bridge carrying Route 2 over Lake Rohunta from Athol to Orange.

-  $2.9M ARRA project for the resurfacing of Route 2 and other improvements in Erving, Gill, Orange, and Wendell.

-  $5.3M reconstruction of two Route 2 bridges in Erving over Route 63 and the New England Central Railroad.

-  The innovative $3.1M design/build ABP bridge replacement on Route 2 over Route 2A in Phillipston.

The statewide road and bridge program combined with the eight-year, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program and federal stimulus funds have more than doubled the Commonwealth's investment in roads and bridges from $515 million in FY2007 to a projected $1.085 in FY2010. 

The combined road and bridge construction program will support more than 10,000 jobs on 385 separate projects across the Commonwealth. 

For MassDOT RMV Lottery Winners, the Prize is the Number

Registrar Rachel Kaprielian announced the winners of MassDOT’s license plate lottery following a live drawing at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline that attracted more than 100 people in the running for 177 low number registrations, including R12, 2002 and 55A. 

With the museum’s antique vehicles serving as a backdrop, Registrar Kaprielian awarded the plates by spinning a drum and drawing names from among this year’s record 8,585 applicants.

 

For Bruce Demello from North Dartmouth the third time was the charm. After applying to the lottery for the past three years, he won plate number 8494. “This is going on the sports car I plan to buy myself now that my daughter has graduated from college,” he said.

Ernest Kramer was awarded plate number 5182. The Wrentham native won his first lottery plate two years ago and was in the crowd then for the 2008 live drawing at the auto museum. “I’m beginning to think you increase your luck, if you’re here in person to watch the winners names drawn,” he said. 

The Massachusetts RMV is the oldest motor vehicle administrative agency in America, which issued the first license plate in 1903.  Many of the top ten single digit plates that were first given out remain in the same family and are passed down through generations.

Winners of the 2010 lottery will have until December 31, 2010 to claim their plates and swap them with their current registration.  The winners list is online here, and the RMV will notify all winners by mail with instructions on how they can claim the winning plates.

BU Bridge Construction Progress

The rehabilitation of the BU Bridge connecting Boston and Cambridge shows visible progress during the summer of 2010. 

The $17.8 million project is funded by Governor Patrick's historic eight-year, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program.  Ongoing work in the past three months included the pouring of sidewalk and curbing and completion of concrete deck paving.  On the main span of the bridge within the steel arches the bridge deck and sidewalk were demolished and structural steel repairs begun.  The full bridge width also has been deleaded, cleaned and painted. 

Drainage work has begun with the installation of bridge deck scuppers, water quality structures, and drainage pipes on the Cambridge side of the bridge. 

The BU Bridge joins the Longfellow project  among several investments totaling more than $300 million in rebuilding the bridges along the Charles River Basin, also including the Craigie Drawbridge, and the Western Avenue, River Street, and Anderson Memorial Bridges.

MassDOT Reminder: Safe Driving Law

The Safe Driving Law became effective in Massachusetts on September 30, 2010. The law creates a series of new violations.   A summary of the violations is available after the break.

Green Line Extension Latest Information

Posted by Kate Fichter, MassDOT Project Manager

Green Line Extension Friends –

The Green Line Extension website has been updated to include some new materials. On the Current Materials page, you can now find a summary of comments and discussion at the spring Land Use Workshops as well as meeting minutes from last week's Design Working Group meeting. We have also included a link to the Community Corridor Planning's Summary of Results from their three-part community design workshop on the Green Line Extension. The website also has a link to video of the Design Working Group meeting, hosted by the SCATV "Vlog." (Please scroll to the August 11, 2010 entry.)

More information about the Green Line Extension project, including information about upcoming public meetings, can be found at www.mass.gov/greenlineextension. Should you have any questions, please contact Kate Fichter, Project Manager for the Green Line Extension, at katherine.fichter@state.ma.us.

Thank you for your interest and participation.

After the break, please find an update on the field work scheduled for the next two weeks:

Student's Kindness Boosts MBTA Police K-9

MBTA Transit Police K-9 partner Marco is now outfitted with a safety vest, thanks to the kindness and perseverance of 13-year old Madeleine Barowsky of Framingham.  Barowsky today received a Certificate of Appreciation from Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan for her efforts.

Madeleine and her mother met Officer Sean McCarthy and K-9 Marco in May, and the Framingham 8th grade student worked for months raising money.  Barowsky made dog-shaped fridge magnets, doggie earrings made of clay, and homemade dog biscuits, and placed collection jars at pet stores.  She worked through K9 Vested Interest, a non-profit organization.

Her months of efforts and kindness paid off, raising the $750 needed to donate a bullet proof vest to K-9 Marco. 

Chief MacMillan said, "Madeleine's selfless act of kindness will help protect K-9 Marco as he performs his duties."

Boston Region Pedestrian Transportation Plan

By Eric Bourassa, Transportation Manager, Metropolitan Area Planning Council

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has released the Boston Region's Pedestrian Transportation Plan. 

In June 2010, the Pedestrian Transportation Plan was approved by the Boston Region MPO.  For over a year, the Pedestrian Transportation Plan was developed in coordination with a Pedestrian Advisory Committee and has been extensively reviewed by numerous planning and transportation professionals.

Both a resource and a guide, the Pedestrian Transportation Plan identifies actions that local governments, advocacy groups, the private sector and individuals should take to increase pedestrian safety and convenience, and to encourage more walking.  These actions include changing existing built environments and adopting policies and practices that promote walking.  The Pedestrian Transportation Plan is unique in that it contains Best Practices and Action Items.  Best Practices are programs or policies already successfully implemented by Boston Region communities.  The Action Items serve as a guide for implementing the plan’s policies and practices.

MAPC anticipates the Pedestrian Transportation Plan will be a highly utilized resource for years to come.  The Pedestrian Transportation Plan can also be viewed on the MAPC website at: http://www.mapc.org/resources/ped-plan.

Scientists Study MBTA Subway Airflow

MBTA subway commuters may notice scientific equipment and researchers with electronic monitoring devices around the system August 20 -27 as part of a scientific study of airflow in the underground portion of the system conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This is the second phase of a study first conducted in December 2009.

The purpose of the study is to gather data on the behavior of airborne contaminants if they were to be released into the subway—part of Homeland Security's commitment to preparedness and protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.  Commuters may notice a variety of electronic equipment positioned in stations or being hand-carried by researchers.

In order to collect data on the behavior of airborne contaminants, the study involves releasing non-toxic, inert, odorless gas and particle tracers into the subway system. Particle and gas concentrations will be sampled in more than 20 stations and in subway cars across the MBTA subway system.  The deliberate release of chemical or biological agents is of primary concern, but the study also helps researchers understand airflow for smoke or unintentional spills of chemicals or fuels.  This research can be used by the MBTA in developing evacuation, ventilation, and other incident response plans.

The study will not disrupt normal activities or present any inconvenience to the public.