Medford Deals With Detours, Traffic Delays This Summer

MEDFORD, MA — A large-scale road resurfacing project, major utility work and the Green Line Extension have conspired to make travel around Medford a challenge. There are three ongoing detours in the city with additional ones planned for later this summer.

While the dueling road and lane closures can be disruptive, much of the work causing them is necessary, with the resulting improvements in utilities, road conditions and a new subway route into Boston the future benefits of dealing with the daily aggravations of the present.

"When a project begins here in the city — whether it is a resurfacing project, or a full redesign — we look at how we can incorporate improvements that advance the experience for all roadway users," Medford City Engineer Tim McGivern said. "This might mean we look at adding or improving pedestrian crossings with curb bump-outs, or adding bicycle lanes, sharrows or other bicycle infrastructure to a project. It might also mean correcting lane alignments, adding traffic calming measures or improving signal timing."

Updated information on road projects can be found at www.MedfordMA.org, Mayor Stephanie M. Burke’s Facebook page, and through Reverse 911 calls which are directed to neighborhoods effected by the work being done.

McGivern said this summer's pavement work is part of a part of a project to prioritize resurfacing main arteries. The plan is then to move on to side roads.

The city recently completed reconstruction of Paris Street, resurfacing of Forest Street, Lawrence Street from Forest Street to Clifton Street and Winthrop Street from Boston Avenue to the city line. Ongoing resurfacing or reconstruction projects include: Governors Avenue, Auburn Street, Windsor Road, Hinsdale Road, Winthrop Street from Boston Avenue to Mystic Valley Parkway and Harvard Street from Main Street to Boston Avenue.

"Officials from the Department of Public Works and the Mayor's office meet throughout the fall and winter to review road conditions, status of utility projects, planned roadway improvement projects and available funding in preparation for the spring when resurfacing projects typically begin for any given year," McGivern said. "For basic resurfacing projects, the typical benefits seen include increase in utility reliability, increased rider comfort and increased safety from new traffic striping. For projects that go further than resurfacing, improvements to traffic flow may be expected as well as improvements to the safety of the roadway users."

While the city has some discretion when it comes to prioritizing paving projects, there is less when it comes to the need for major utility work and something like the $2.3-billion Green Line Extension Project. The closure of the Broadway Bridge in Somerville requires a detour through Medford that began in March and will continue for approximately eight more months.

"The city is in contact with the Green Line project almost daily since it began and plans city projects to minimize conflict with this large regional transit project," McGivern said. "The city attends regular coordination meetings with the Green Line project and provides oversight to the work that impacts the residents of Medford and the use of the roadways."

McGivern said a good example of that is the Harvard Street gas main replacement. He said the gas main needed replacing, but National Grid had scheduling challenges that prevented the work happening prior to the Broadway Bridge closure. Through meeting with National Grid and the GLX team, a plan was devised to replace the main in a timely manner, while aiming to minimize disruption to an already-impacted neighborhood.

The gas main replacement detours Harvard Street from Main Street to Winchester Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with traffic diverted to Marion Street via Winchester Street. The replacement is scheduled to be completed by the end of August with the road resurfaced at the end of the project.

There is a third detour in North Medford associated with a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority project in Stoneham that is sending extra traffic on to Woodland Road, Elm Street and Fellsway West, with delays expected during peak hours.

Winthrop Street will also be affected with one or two-day detours associated with an Eversource transmission main project later this summer. Portions of Mystic Avenue, Main Street and South Street will be affected. McGivern said Eversource will resurface the full length of the route at the completion of the project.

McGivern noted that last year the city provided "smaller, yet significant, improvements" in about 20 spots in the city, including flashing stop signs, flashing pedestrian warning signs and vehicle-speed feedback signs.

A Complete Streets project is planning for the Tufts Square intersection at Medford Street and Main Street that includes realigning the intersection. No detours or extended road closures are expected. That project is expected to be done by the end of September.

"We anticipate this project will calm traffic, create more orderly traffic flow, provide shorter pedestrian crossings and additional sidewalk space," McGivern said.