Please add your voice to the design and environmental review of MassDOT’s plans to rebuild the Mass Pike Allston Interchange!

The federal environmental review for the I-90 project is about to begin, and there are elements of this project design that are causing us concern.

We need your help to submit comments on the design before Thursday, Dec. 12th 2019. Over 100 people emailed in February 2018, and it changed the process for the better. Can we count on you again?

Send an email to I-90Allston@dot.state.ma.us and cc: comments@walkboston.org when you send it in!

Here are WalkBoston’s top five concerns with the current plan:

1. The construction of West Station is not being accelerated, and the design of the tracks and station cannot accommodate the level of rail service that is needed to serve the Framingham-Worcester corridor or the Boston/Cambridge/Brookline neighborhoods near the station. The MBTA Board of Directors recently endorsed a plan to significantly increase the frequency of commuter rail service – MassDOT’s plan for West Station must align with that vision.
2. The walking and biking connections provided in MassDOT’s proposal do not include the connections that we need between the Charles River path and Allston Village or Commonwealth Avenue including: a safer new Franklin Street Footbridge connecting North and South Allston, without the unsafe switchback hairpin turns currently included in design; a footbridge at Agganis Way to connect Allston, Comm Ave, and Boston University to the Charles River paths; and a new park and multi-use path built as a buffer between the Wadsworth Street neighborhood and the train tracks,
3. The project’s purpose must include a plan to improve the quality and extent of the Charles River parkland, the storage and treatment of stormwater, the ecological health of the river, and the need to provide human access to the river’s edge.
4. MassDOT must provide a detailed plan to effectively mitigate travel disruptions during the 10-year construction period. No additional rail or bus service has yet been described or offered and no commitment has been made to keeping two tracks in service on the Framingham-Worcester Line during construction.
5. The construction plan described by MassDOT will have significant impacts on the Charles River for 10+ years. Project planning must include further review of design and construction alternatives to ensure that these impacts are mitigated and reduced to the greatest extent possible.