Drivers stressed about weekend Mass Pike closures, traffic delays

CBS News

2 days ago

A traffic headache is expected on the Mass Pike this weekend as MassDOT shuts down a large portion of the roadway to make way for a bridge repair project. Crews are demolishing and replacing a bridge over the MBTA railroad tracks on the Newton/Weston border.
"I think I'll cry," said Catherine Carney, a Logan Express bus driver who will be on the job this weekend driving her route from Framingham and will have few options. "Personally, I will probably just follow the Pike because if we go through the roads out in the towns, they're going to be just as swamped," Carney said.
Mass Pike shutdown begins Friday night
That will be the word this weekend as the shutdown begins 9:00 p.m. Friday and ends 5:00 a.m. Monday near the I-95 interchange.
It will be in Fernando Pereira's direction to work in Boston. "I think they have to figure out how to make this work better because it's a lot of stress in this situation," Pereira said.
The plan is to close a two-mile stretch leaving only one lane in each direction on the eastbound side of the Mass Pike. The advice is to avoid the area or plan ahead for alternate routes into the city such as Route 2.
Derek Wheeler needs to get his son to a tournament soccer game. "Unfortunately we're going to have to take Route 9 as far as we can and wind our way through Cambridge and Watertown essentially," Wheeler said.
Mike Mills is boarding a bus to the airport hours early just in case. "I don't want to miss my flight," Mills said. "I think that's the thing I'm most stressed about."
Impact to rail service
Shuttle buses will also replace Commuter Rail service on the Worcester Line trains between Framingham and South Station. On Amtrak, the Boston to Chicago route is impacted and buses will run between Albany, New York and Boston.
MassDOT says it chose weekends it hopes will have the most minimal impact because the shutdown will occur again the weekend of June 20. "First and foremost, leave yourself a lot of extra time. Use the tools that are out there," said MassDOT highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver.