In the early 2000s, the popular term ‘Don’t Go There’ was all about avoidance, and now it can be applied to avoiding the roads around Charlestown.
With traffic already at a standstill most of the day and night in the Alford Street and Sullivan Square areas due to construction, the state and City of Boston announced this week that the Alford Street Bridge will be under construction for the next seven months.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced Tuesday that traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Route 99 in the area of the Alford Street Bridge in Boston beginning on October 1, and continuing 24/7 through April 30, 2019.
This lane closure will allow crews to safely and effectively conduct bridge deck replacement operations.
The Alford Street Bridge is a City of Boston owned structure that carries motor vehicles on Route 99 in both directions over the Mystic River. This time frame has been closely coordinated with stakeholders including the Coast Guard as the Mystic River channel must be closed to marine traffic during bridge deck replacement operations.
The work coincides with major traffic improvement work that is being done by Encore Boston Harbor and Eversource at Sullivan Square, Lower Broadway and many side streets in Everett. Already many of those side streets have been shut down completely since early this summer to accommodate work crews. That is expected to continue until November.
As always, work will be conducted in ways that help minimize the impact on the local community and traveling public. MassDOT encourages the public to be mindful of these traffic impacts. Those traveling through the area should reduce speed and use caution. The schedule for this work is weather dependent and subject to change without notice.