Allston I-90 – early August 2020 update

Following an announcement of the potential alternatives to be included in the upcoming FHWA/MassDOT studies for a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), 10+ organizations including WalkBoston sent in a letter that we hoped would help guide the writing that was to be included in a scope for the DEIS. The letter was not well-received by MassDOT and a response came quickly outlining why our letter was not going to have an effect on state/federal plans.

Shortly after these communications, the DEIS full document was distributed. It  has three alternatives for the Throat area, each of which will fail to meet the standards that are prescribed in the options MassDOT proposed to develop.

The two options our groups favor fail immediately because they cannot be constructed without either temporary or permanent fill in the Charles River, and the State’s Secretary of Environmental Affairs has stated that if any option stays out of the river it will necessarily become the chosen approach.

This isn’t just an Allston thing: the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce is also concerned about transit access along the corridor. The Boston Globe editorial board weighed in over the weekend, saying “The state and activists should compromise on a solution that is not a throwback to 1960s transportation projects but a vision for a thriving waterfront and transit corridor.”