Worcester Traffic Alert: 3-Month Plantation Street Bridge Detour

WORCESTER, MA — If your regular commute includes Plantation Street, you better start planning now on an alternate route.

Starting Nov. 2, MassDOT will switch lanes over the Plantation Street Bridge to one-way only heading toward Route 9. This will be the latest in a series of major detours as the state replaces the aging span.

During the detour, crews will be working on a demolition and reconstruction of the west side of the bridge, which usually carries southbound traffic.

The one-way switch will last for up to 12 weeks, according to MassDOT. The southbound detour around the bridge is a little long, sending drivers south along Lake Avenue, then downtown via Hamilton/Grafton streets and then back to Plantation Street via Franklin Street. Here's what that would look like starting at eastbound Route 9:

The Plantation Street bridge rebuild kicked off one year ago. By spring 2021, a new bridge will be in place that's 6 feet wider than the current one. A previous closure in August shut the bridge down for an entire weekend.