State moves forward with Dedham St. corridor project

Rendering of the new I-95 off-ramp (on right) and existing I-95 on-ramp (Source: MassDOT)

Canton motorists can expect to see a return to normalcy on Washington Street in the coming weeks as construction crews near completion on the concurrent intersection improvement projects at Dedham and Chapman streets.

However, those who travel on the other end of Dedham Street can expect to face a new set of traffic challenges as work commences on a major state highway project in the vicinity of Interstate 95.

The $44 million project, which has been in the planning stages for several years, is expected to get underway sometime in the fall with work continuing well into the next calendar year and beyond.

Plans call for the complete reconfiguration of a portion of Dedham Street — approximately 3,800 feet from Kirby Drive to an area west of the Neponset River — including the addition of new travel lanes in both directions, a new off-ramp from I-95 northbound, extensive bridge work, three new signalized intersections, and accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Delays are to be expected throughout the duration of the construction period, although the end result, according to both local and state officials, will be worth the short-term aggravation.

“Once complete, this project will have major benefits for drivers, including easier access to Dedham Street and safer travel routes for bicyclists,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Thomas J. Tinlin. “This is another example of MassDOT making critical infrastructure improvements to benefit all modes of transportation.”

The stated purpose of the project, according to MassDOT, is to improve access to the Route 128 commuter rail station and the University Station development in Westwood while also substantially reducing cut-through traffic on Canton’s residential streets.

To address congestion on Dedham Street, the roadway will be widened from one travel lane in each direction to two in each direction, and the bridges over the Neponset River and the MBTA/Amtrak railroad tracks will be widened as well. A third bridge, which carries Dedham Street over I-95, will be replaced with a new structure.

The new I-95 northbound off-ramp will be constructed on the westerly side of Dedham Street between the existing I-95 southbound on-ramp and the Shawmut Road industrial park. Traffic signals will be installed at Shawmut Road and the two I-95 ramps, and a dedicated turning lane will be added to allow vehicles traveling westbound on Dedham Street to turn left onto I-95 south. Currently, only cars traveling eastbound on Dedham Street (toward Canton) are able to access the on-ramp.

The prospect of gaining an off-ramp on Dedham Street where none currently exists has some Canton residents concerned, fueling fears that the new access point will add even more cars to Canton’s already congested roadways.

However, traffic experts and others who have studied the project have concluded that the ramp will help to significantly alleviate congestion — not only on the I-95/I-93 interchange but also in Canton neighborhoods.

“The Board of Selectmen is pleased that the Dedham Street off-ramp is going in,” noted Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr, who was part of a contingent — along with Selectman Victor Del Vecchio and state Representative Bill Galvin — that successfully lobbied the state for Dedham Street infrastructure funding.

Burr said the addition of another I-95 off-ramp will help to disperse the heavy volume of motorists that currently exit I-95 northbound at Neponset Street, many of whom are bound for Dedham Street. In the future, he said, those who travel from the south and work at the Norfolk Probate and Family Court — or one of the dozen or so other businesses in the Shawmut industrial park — will be able to exit 95 right at Dedham Street and return home via the existing I-95 south on-ramp.

Another major component of this project, according to local and state officials, is the improved access for pedestrians and bicyclists, including the addition of a sidewalk on the north side of Dedham Street and new five-foot-wide bike lanes on both sides of the street. The project also calls for the construction of 18 new retaining walls, seven stormwater treatment basins, and a new walkway under Dedham Street leading to the Trustees of Reservations’ Signal Hill property and the Neponset River canoe launch area.

The work will be performed by SPS New England Inc., which out-bid eight other contractors for the job, including Barletta Heavy Division Inc. of Shawmut Road in Canton., which was the second lowest eligible bidder. MassDOT’s Highway Division opened bidding on August 30 and the winning bid was announced in a MassDOT blog post dated September 13.

The Dedham Street corridor project is actually the fourth of five phases in the Canton/Dedham/Norwood/Westwood I-95/I-93 Interchange Project, which seeks to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion in and around the interchange.

Previous phases included construction of a two-lane I-95 northbound off-ramp to I-93 northbound, completed in 2013; reconstruction of the Canton Street/University Avenue intersection, completed in 2015; and the reconstruction of the University Avenue off-ramp, completed in 2016.

Once the Dedham Street improvements are complete, MassDOT will turn its attention to the final and costliest phase: reconstruction of the interchange itself. Plans call for the creation of an improved merge area for the I-93 and Dedham Street ramps; safety improvements to I-95 northbound from Dedham Street to the interchange; removal of the existing loop ramps at the interchange; and removal of 1,800 feet of abandoned I-95 roadway in the northern stub area, which will return 52 acres of land to the DCR Blue Hills Reservation.

As for the aforementioned intersection upgrades at Dedham/Washington and Chapman/Washington, Canton DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta estimated that they are “85 to 90 percent done.” The work is being overseen and financed by the developers of the University Station project as part of a mitigation agreement that the town had previously negotiated with the developer. Upgrades include the addition of turn lanes at both intersections and the installation of a traffic light at Chapman Street that will be synchronized with the existing Dedham/Washington light.

Both projects were expected to be completed by mid August; however, the cause of the hold-up, according to Trotta, is a utility pole at the Chapman Street intersection. Trotta said Eversource has already moved its wires off of the pole, and the remaining utilities will do so in the coming weeks.

Trotta said the hope is that the utility work can be completed in the next “couple of weeks” and the project can be finished by mid October.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Sep 23 2016. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.