Citing near-term safety concerns, state transportation officials are accelerating the timeline for steel and concrete repairs along a section of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston.
Work is expected to start by early 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. The agency plans to dedicate $75 million toward repairs primarily on highway sections underneath the Allston Viaduct, which carries the I-90 toll road from the Allston Interchange to the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge.
There’s still disagreement over how to proceed with the much larger project in that area that involves viaduct replacement, highway straightening and major public transit improvements, and the timeline for that Allston Multimodal Project calls for construction to start in late 2023 or early 2024 and continue for between six and 10 years.
MassDOT said Tuesday that the more immediate repair work “is necessary for both the near-term safety of the viaduct” and will support longer-term goals as talks continue on design, mitigation, financing and permitting measures “in advance of aiming to file a Notice of Project Change (NPC) for the preferred alternative later this year.”
The repair work is expected to take place over a period of 18 to 24 months, and MassDOT said it anticipates “minimal disruption for rail and roadway commuters with some night and weekend lane takings expected.”
The Allston Multimodal Project Task Force is scheduled to meet next on Thursday, June 3, and MassDOT expects the repair work will be among the topics of discussion.
