MassDOT Picks Ideal Design For Allston Multimodal Project

BOSTON, MA — MassDOT this week announced its pick for a preferred design of a massive rebuild of the Mass Pike through Allston, a step that will allow the agency to move closer to starting construction on a project that's been in talks for almost a decade.

The selection of the so-called 3L Realignment design means MassDOT can submit environmental impact reports to state and federal environmental agencies for review. That two-year review will commence in 2023, according to MassDOT — that means it's possible construction could begin in 2025.

Whenever construction begins, the $2 billion mega project could take up to seven years to finish, which means big disruptions for commuters who use either the Mass Pike or the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line, whose tracks will run right through the construction zone.

During construction, MassDOT will rebuild the Mass Pike across a former rail yard in Allston, opening up land north of the highway for redevelopment. MassDOT also plans to rebuild I-90 at ground level through a tight area — known as "the throat" — between the Charles River, Soldiers Field Road, commuter and freight rail tracks and the Boston University campus. Plans also call for a new commuter rail station at the end of Malvern Street to be completed sometime between 2032 and 2040.

"The Allston I-90 Multimodal Project creates the opportunity to dramatically improve livability and connectivity for residents of the Allston neighborhood while preserving and enhancing regional mobility through improvements to I-90 and its abutting interchange," MassDOT has said of the project. "In addition, the project will result in the creation of a new transit hub in the neighborhood along the Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail Line."

MassDOT said about 230 people submitted comments on the preferred 3L design, with "a majority expressing support." But environmental groups have expressed concerns that the project will result in more pollution running into the Charles River, and the loss of park space in the narrow "throat" section.

“Twelve lanes of highway, with the accompanying noise, air pollution, and polluted stormwater runoff into the Charles River, is a 1950s-era road design,” Charles River Watershed Association Deputy Director of Programs Conrad Crawford said in a reaction to the 3L selection. “It is 2022 and we should know better. We need to be reducing vehicle traffic, and prioritizing pedestrian, cycling and public transit. This design keeps the car as king.”