I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

I-90 Allston Interchange ABC Executive Committee January 21, 2015

Prepared by A Better City 1 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Project Background . All Electronic Tolling eliminates toll booths and allows interchange redesign for safety and efficiency . Turnpike carries 147,000 vehicles per day . The overall site includes 150 acres . Multi-modal improvements: road, rail, bike, bus, pedestrian . Reconfiguration supports development opportunities . Connect North and South Allston and better mitigate impacts

Schedule: to 2016 EIR/EA; design/build by 2017; road and rail completion by 2020.

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50 Member Task Force . Convened by MassDOT . Met 10 times from May to October . Includes local residents and business people, major abutters (Harvard University and Boston University), advocacy groups, ABC . Made progress toward defining a preferred alternative . Raised several other issues that require further study . Seeks a continuing role in the future

Prepared by A Better City 3 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Environmental Notification Form . Filed on October 31, 2014 . Identified three variations of a preferred roadway option . Committed to multi-modal, streetscape, and open space improvements . Identified a list of outstanding issues MEPA Certificate . Issued on December 24, 2014 . Defined a detailed scope of studies required in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)

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I-90 Interchange and Cambridge St. . The DEIR is required to discuss potential design refinements to Alternative “3J”  Make east Drive Connector at grade and elevate Stadium Way Connector  Explore ways to limit roadway elevation for access to West Station  Explore connections across the site between BU area and Cambridge St.  Option 3J-1: Two-Way Cambridge St.  Option 3J-2: One-Way parallel street  Option 3J-3: Two-Way parallel street

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Cambridge Street . The street will be rebuilt as either two-way or one-way, with parking lanes, a cycle track, trees and a generous sidewalk to improve the streetcape and pedestrian environment.

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The project also includes: . I-90 Highway Realignment . I-90 Viaduct . Soldiers Field Road Realignment . Allston/Brighton Interchange . West Station . Commuter Rail Layover Facility . Cambridge Street . Multi-Modal Improvements . Lincoln Street Footbridge All Electronic Tolling is a separate project scheduled for 2016. Prepared by A Better City 7 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Viaduct . How to stage rebuild? . Move toward river? . Elevated v. Surface?

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Existing: 107’ wide

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Proposed: 23’ wider = 130’

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Staging: permanently closer to river

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Staging: many steps

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 ABC Alternative 1: Stage 1

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 ABC Alternative 1: Stage 2

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 ABC Alternative 1: Stage 3

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 ABC Alternative 1: Stage 4

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Viaduct: Move toward river? . 95%, 5%, 0% . 80%, 15%, 5%

210’ + XX

25’- 41’ min.

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Viaduct . Elevated v. Surface?

Prepared by A Better City I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Open Space . MassDOT is studying the relocation of Soldiers Field Road to the west, perhaps under portion of the Turnpike viaduct, to increase the width of open space next to the Charles River along the Paul Dudley White Path.

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Multi-Modal Improvements . MassDOT has included several transportation modes in its planning for the Interchange area. . Bicycles and pedestrians will be accommodated in a shared use path as well as in dedicated routes along the roadways. . Buses, commuter rail, and Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) will serve West Station, a new multi-modal facility on the southern edge of

Prepared by A Better City the site. 20 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Commuter Rail Layover Facility . As part of the South Station Expansion Project, MassDOT plans to construct a layover facility to accommodate up to 20 eight-car commuter train sets Includes: pit track, wheel truing facility, crew quarters, train car wash, power substation, and crew parking.

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West Station . Included in the interchange project, the station will serve the Worcester Line as well as two- track DMU service along the Grand Junction Railroad to Cambridge. West Station will be . The station will similar to the four-track, two-platform JFK/UMass. have bus, bike, and Station on the Red Line pedestrian and Old Colony Line. connections. Prepared by A Better City 22 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Decking . The DEIR is required to discuss opportunities to deck over West Station and the Layover Facility to facilitate future air rights development by Harvard. The report will study:

 How to construct the project to accommodate support structures and decking in the future.  Benefits and challenges of constructing decking concurrent with, or after completion of the Project.  Cost implications.  Opportunities for public/private partnerships.  Potential constraints on rail operations. < Structure in place at South Station platforms Prepared by A Better City 23 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Vehicle Connection from West Station to Commonwealth Ave. . The DEIR will analyze the feasibility of a vehicle connection from West Station to Commonwealth Avenue:  Impacts and benefits The Certificate identifies two  Transit connection possible connection points to improvements study at Babcock Street and  Grading and elevation Malvern Street. challenges  Land takings  Impacts to rail operations

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Prepared by A Better City Babcock Street 25 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Malvern Street Prepared by A Better City 26 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Urban Ring Bus Rapid Transit Noting ABC’s comments, the Certificate requires the DEIR to discuss how the proposed I-90 project can accommodate or at least not preclude potential implementation of the Urban Ring concept.

Prepared by A Better City X marks a corridor under the viaduct 27 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 DMU Service at West Station . The DEIR is required to discuss how West Station will be designed to provide for future projects such as potential DMU service to Kendall Square, and . Bicycle and pedestrian connections using the Grand Junction Railroad bridge.

Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains like this carry passengers efficiently over short distances with many stops.

Prepared by A Better City 28 I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015 Land Use Assumptions . The Certificate requires MassDOT, Harvard, and the City of Boston to work together to establish future development assumptions. . The assumptions should be clearly stated in the DEIR, and include:  Density (FAR)  Heights This map is part of a presentation to the Task  Force by the City of Boston in Meeting #8, Block sizes emphasizing the urban street grid and block  Open Space layout to support development.  Parking ratios

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Future Development . Harvard University owns the land under the Interchange, which is in a transportation easement, and will develop the property over the long term.

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Construction Period Traffic Management and Mitigation . Maintain three travel lanes in each direction on I- 90 during daytime peaks and at least two lanes at night. . The DEIR is required to include conceptual construction phasing plans for each project element, noting times of concurrent activity, and duration of each phase. . The DEIR should address potential operational impacts of extended lane closures and identify measures to mitigate their impacts. . The DEIR should include a separate chapter summarizing proposed mitigation measures, and contain a clear commitment to implement those

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I-90 Allston Interchange Project: Progress Report January 2015

Current Schedule for the Interchange Project

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