Local elected officials are objecting to plans that will block left turns from Charlestown to the North End’s Commercial Street during construction of a replacement North Washington Street Bridge. Instead, North End traffic is expected to be redirected down Thacher Street, Hanover Street and Atlantic Ave. and to loop back around. This traffic change is expected to bring increased traffic to the interior North End.
State Representatives Aaron Michlewitz, Daniel Ryan along with State Senators Joseph Boncore and Sal DiDomenico were joined by Boston’s District 1 City Councilor Lydia Edwards in a joint letter to the Mass. Dept. of Transportation (MassDot).
“… not allowing this turn WILL result in congestion and backups that will have ripple effects throughout the ENTIRE North End, rather than at one entrance/exit to the neighborhood. This will not only be a detour for residents of the North end, but it will also affect the delivery trucks that service the many restaurants of the neighborhood daily and school buses that are dropping off and picking up Charlestown children to and from the Eliot School.”
Also posting on Facebook, Rep. Michlewitz said, “this new plan to shut off the left turn to Commercial St. is unacceptable, period.”
Work begins this summer on the North Washington Street Bridge Replacement Project and continues in six major stages through late 2022. See all the construction plans and renderings here.
Are they nuts too not make that turn and do the turn on thacher st wtf
Wait till someone brakes down wait till someone moves wait till a handicap person needs too get in a car or out of a car wait wait wait some more and back it up too he’ll ok Marty u need too fix this and fix this fast
Yes they are nuts or bureacrats. But what’s the difference. Good news is that the local reps see the issue.
This is a state project not a city project, so it’s not marty making the plans.
Rather than throwing our hands up, why not suggest that the official detour follow Medford Street back to Causeway instead of Thatcher? Or Velenti to Haverhill?
I don’t actually see an official detour route listed at all (which could mean all of the outrage is for naught), but it’s hard to search the docs in the format they’re in.
In theory that would work, except for the fact that for any Garden event it would be a disaster. Between rush hour traffic and Garden events it would gridlock.