WESTON, Mass. —
Weekend lane closures and rolling roadblocks will result in "very intense" travel impacts for drivers at the Interstate 95/Massachusetts Turnpike interchange as a multiyear bridge rehabilitation project moves forward.
MassDOT said the weekend lane closures on I-90 will be between exits 123 and 125 in Weston and Newton, a two-mile stretch from the Ridgeway Road bridge in Weston to the Commonwealth Avenue overpass in Newton.
The first weekend lane closure is scheduled for 9 p.m. on May 30 through 5 a.m. on June 2. The second closure is set for 9 p.m. June 20 until 5 a.m. June 23.
"First and foremost, we are asking the public to avoid traveling through the Newton-Weston area on the turnpike during this period, during the weekend," MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said. "Travel impacts are expected to be intense, and what we're hoping to do is get about 50% of our normal traffic at least to divert to another location."
About 100,000 vehicles use the affected roadway each day, Gulliver said. That traffic will be squeezed into a single lane in each direction during the closures.
"I want to stress this is going to be a very intense period. These kind of these kinds of projects are designed in such a way so that you have very brief pain, but they do cause some intense, intense pain when it happens," Gulliver said.
Gulliver urged drivers who have to use the Mass511 website, Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps and other travel tools to plan their trips and "to make sure that you know what you're getting into."
"If you don't get that 50% (traffic reduction), you can see those delays really expand quite a bit. Our modeling has indicated that with 100% of normal traffic, you could see delays as much as two or three hours coming through this area," Gulliver said.
The weekend lane closures, along with a temporary commuter rail shutdown, are necessary to replace the I-90 bridge over the MBTA railroad, MassDOT said.
The Framingham-Worcester Commuter line will also be affected by the construction, and shuttles will be used from Framingham to Riverside and from West Newton to Kenmore Square. AMTRAK service in and out of the city will also be using shuttles in this area.
MassDOT said the closures are part of the Newton/Weston Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation project at the Interstate 90/Interstate 95 interchange. Five bridges at the I-90/I-95 interchange are being replaced, one bridge is being rehabilitated and two are having their superstructures replaced.
Drivers should expect major delays during the closures and seek alternate routes.