State Recommends Route 9/I-495 Changes

Expanding Route 9 to three lanes, both ways, between Computer Drive in Westborough and Deerfoot Road in Southborough would help address traffic congestion and safety issues at the Interstate 495 interchange, a new state transportation study says.

The recommendation is among several that Massachusetts Department of Transportation Project Manager Calli Cenizal presented to the Westborough Planning Board last Tuesday night.

Similar meetings were held with the Southborough Planning Board on Jan. 7, and the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen on Jan. 8.

Cenizal presented the recommendations in state transportation officials' I-495 and Route 9 Interchange Improvement Study. The study covered "the I-495/Route 9 and I-495/I-90 interchanges, I-495 between I-90 and Route 9, and approximately one mile of contiguous roadway in each direction from the interchanges," the document says.

The recommendations include such items as:

• Constructing braided ramps -- "a bridge to elevate one ramp over the other" -- at I-495 at Route 9. 
• Adding "advance EZPass/Cash-Only utilization signage" at the I-495/I-90 interchange, "to direct motorists approaching the toll plaza." The state also would "flatten the curve on the I-90 ramp to I-495 northbound, which is susceptible to truck roll-overs."
• Expanding transit options, such as commuter rail shuttles.

More information is available on the project's website.