Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS • EFFECTIVE PARTNERING ®
MEMORANDUM
March 16, 2015
To:
Kevin Huie
Barletta Heavy Division
Project Manager
From:
Nathaniel Curtis
Howard/Stein-Hudson
Public Involvement Specialist
RE:
Second Construction Public Information Meeting1
Meeting Notes of March 9, 2015
Overview & Executive Summary
On March 9, 2015 members of the Casey Arborway Project Team and MassDOT staff associated with the job
held the second public information meeting for the construction phase of the project. The Casey Arborway
project is the result of a three year planning process consisting of over forty meetings and input from two
business and citizen advisory groups known respectively as the Working Advisory Group (WAG) and the
Design Advisory Group (DAG). The project, which was awarded in October, 2014 by MassDOT board to a
general contractor’s team led by Barletta Heavy Division, will remove the existing Casey Overpass and
replace it with a new network of at-grade streets to be known as the Casey Arborway. The project will also
equip Forest Hills Station with a new, fully accessible entrance/exit head-house to the north of the Casey
Arborway at the end of the Southwest Corridor linear park which will be upgraded with a new, graceful
entrance plaza. The plaza immediately to the north of Forest Hills Station will be improved and expanded
with the shifting of the Route 39 bus to the upper bus-way. The project will also create just over three miles
of new bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, upgrade and modernize all signals within the project limits of
work, and plant 560 new trees. Franklin Park will receive a new pedestrian friendly gateway in the form of
the conversion of the Shea Circle rotary into a traditional four-way intersection to be known as Shea Square.
An overview of the job was provided at the first meeting of the construction phase on January 21st, 2015.
This presentation can be seen at http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/caseyarborway/Meetings.aspx. Anyone
interested in materials pertaining to the planning and design period can find them at
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/caseyarborway/Meetings/DesignandPlanningMeetings.aspx.
The purpose of the meeting summarized herein was to provide an overview of the next 90 days of work and
answer follow up questions from the initial public information meeting held on January 2. This 90 day
period is chiefly concerned with taking steps necessary to allow the Casey Overpass to be closed and
demolished. Chief among these is the construction of temporary surface roadways to which traffic from the
bridge can be shifted once the structure is permanently closed and demolition undertaken. With regard to
open questions from the 21st, top line concerns among these were environmental in nature primarily dust,
lead, and noise. In terms of dust, testing performed by MassDOT has shown that the concrete of the Casey
Overpass is free of asbestos. The concrete of the bridge is assumed to be 5% crystalline silicate. This
crystalline silicate will be kept from departing the work zone by wetting any concrete being broken up for
removal. This tactic is the OSHA and DOT approved method for addressing this issue. With regard to lead,
the bridge’s girders are being treated as though they have been painted with lead paint at some point in
their service life. To ensure that lead does not become airborne, the girders will be sheared, essentially a
1
Meeting attendance is listed in Appendix 1. This meeting was advertised twice in the Boston Herald and Boston
Globe. It was advertised once in the following publications: Jamaica Plain Gazette, in English and Spanish, West
Roxbury/Roslindale Transcript, Dorchester Reporter, in English and Haitian Creole, The Milton Times, and
Brookline Tab. Meeting notifications were also placed in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale Square Branch
Libraries and in the Curtis Hall Community Center.
11 Beacon Street, Suite 1010  Boston, Massachusetts 02108  617.482.7080
www.hshassoc.com
Page 1
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
process of being cut with a hydraulic pair of very large scissors, rather than torch cut. Once sheared into
lengths ready for trucks, the steel will be transported offsite for disposal. The meeting was attended by
Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Representatives Russell Holmes and Liz Malia, Jullieanne Doherty of the Mayor’s
Office of Neighborhood Services, Jim Gilooly, Deputy Commissioner of BTD, and staff members from the
offices of City Councilors, O’Malley and Yancey.
Meeting Minutes
Opening Remarks
C: Jim Kersten (JK): Good evening everyone and welcome to the second construction update meeting for
the Casey Arborway Project. My name is Jim Kersten. I took over for John Romano and I will be helping
manage the project. Tonight we will be presenting what has taken place since our last meeting and
cover the upcoming construction work. The second half of the presentation will be addressing questions
and concerns brought up during our last meeting. With us tonight is Joe Coleman, the resident engineer
for MassDOT. Joe runs the day-to-day operations. We also have the project manager on the
Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA), Tom Rovero. From the Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR) we have Ruth Helfeld and from the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) we have
Commissioner Jim Gillooly. I want to acknowledge that we also have State Representative Russell
Holmes and State Representative Liz Malia here with us tonight. We also have representatives from
Councilor O’Malley’s office, Senator Chang-Diaz’s office, and Councilor Yancey’s office.
The construction team is shown here behind me. Barletta Heavy Division is the general contractor and
with us tonight is Kevin Huie, Barletta’s project manager. We also have their public involvement
consultant Nate Cabral-Curtis from Howard/Stein-Hudson. After the presentation we will have a
question and answer session. If we have to go past 9pm to answer questions we will gladly do so.
I’d like to make a short opening statement before we begin. The design phase and planning of this
project have benefited from an unprecedented amount of public involvement. Make no mistake; this is a
massive undertaking in a densely populated residential area with a large number of small businesses,
vehicular traffic, public transit, and pedestrian and bicycle activity. My job is to mitigate those
construction impacts to the great possible degree. The reality is at times construction-related traffic will
be bad. You can’t remove a structure of this size in silence. Again, my sole focus is to help as much as I
can and I hope when you see our public outreach plan you will be pleased. I would like to reiterate that
this meeting is to update you on the next 90 days and answer questions from the previous meeting. If
you have a specific design related question, the team and I will be available after the meeting. Before I
introduce Kevin I would also like to point out that all the phases of construction are on big boards in the
lobby. If you have any questions please grab one of us after the meeting and we will be happy to walk
you through the boards. With that, I thank you all for coming out and I give you the project manager
Kevin Huie.
Presentation of Construction Staging
C: Kevin Huie (KH): Thank you Jim. Good evening everyone, I’m Kevin Huie. Tonight I want to walk you
through the work that has been done to date as well as the next 90 days of anticipated work. We have
been working to remove trees as well as protect the trees that we are keeping. This will continue for the
next couple of months. As some of you are probably aware we have put out the Variable Message Signs
(VMS), construction signage, and erosion control measures. This image was taken at Hyde Park Avenue
and New Washington Street. It shows the initial work zone setup and temporary reconstruction. This
next slide shows the western end of the Casey Arborway traffic shift. We implemented this shift prior to
the snow fall. I should mention that we’ve done our best to stay on track with the construction schedule
Page 2
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
but as everyone knows we were hit with multiple astronomical snowstorms. Other work that we have
completed so far includes a baseline video of adjacent properties including surveys. We have been
working with N-Star and Verizon to relocate utility lines. We’ve cleaned all the drainage lines and we’ve
taken videos of each one so we are in good shape there. We’ve installed the advisory VMS boards
which extend all the way out to Route 138. We have been coordinating with Boston Public Schools (BPS)
and the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) regarding the bus pick-up and dropoff zones. We’ve also had conversations with the MBTA and their bus operations office. Snow removal
has been ongoing.
In the next 90 days you can expect the initial demolition of the bridge to begin. In order to get there we
need to construct the east and westbound temporary roadways. This will take place right around 500
Arborway. You’ll see us out there setting of the work zones and doing traffic shifts. Another major
milestone will be the construction for a temporary berth of Bus 39. We’ll be shifting that bus stop to the
east slightly in order to provide the bus driver with more room to turn around while we’re doing some of
the demolition. This slide shows the next 3 months of work. For the next 3 months we are going to be
doing survey control, relocating utilities, traffic signals, and implementing work zones for the temporary
pavement markings in order to start the initial traffic shift. The standard work hours will be 7:00am to
7:30pm during the weekdays and 7:00am to 3:30pm on Saturdays. There is no night work scheduled at
the present moment. If there is night work planned we will provide a 2 week advance notice to the
community.
The purpose of this slide is to resolve some of the confusion that came about at the last meeting. To
provide the orientation, north is heading towards the monument and Doyle’s cafe, south is towards
Roslindale, west is heading towards Jamaica Pond, and east towards the Franklin Park. Everyone has
seen this slide. The orange color represents the temporary work zones. We are going to take over those
areas and start relocating utilities out of those areas. We’ll be bringing down the elevation of these
areas in order to build the temporary roadways. Once we complete that we will shift the traffic from the
blue areas to the orange areas. Some of the key elements in the first traffic modification include erosion
control measures, placing the temporary walkway and ramps, placing the temporary barrier for
pedestrian access, constructing the temporary westbound Arborway road, as well as the temporary Route
39 busway and upper busway.
This next slide shows phase 2 of the traffic modification. In this phase we are shifting everyone into the
previous orange area. The new orange area is the rest of the work zone. We’ll be relocating the rest of
the utilities in that area and getting it ready to completely shut down the Casey Overpass. The key
elements included in the second traffic modification are partial demolition of the westbound western
bridge approach roadway and first span, construction of the temporary courthouse employee parking,
construction of the temporary eastbound Arborway road, and demolition of the existing MBTA upper
busway.
Once both of the initial phases are complete we will move into stage 1. In stage 1 we will close the
bridge with the target date at the end of May and place everyone on the surface road. Once the bridge
is closed it allows us to set up the new work zones highlighted in orange. To summarize the stage 1
operations some of the key elements include the demolition of easterly and westerly bridge approach
roadways, abutments, and spans. Construction southbound of Washington Street between South Street
and Ukraine Way as well as the construction of the new upper bus way inner bay will take place. With
that, I’m going to pass it back off to Jim. Thank you.
Discussion of Environmental Issues
C: JK: We received a lot of comment from the last public information meeting in January. We put a lot of
time and effort into addressing all of them. I would like to introduce one of our environmental
engineers Alex Kasprak. Before I hand it off to Alex I would like to recognize Jullieanne Doherty from
the Major’s Office of Neighborhood Services is here in attendance.
Page 3
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
C: Alex Kasprak (AK): Good evening everyone. You may remember me from the last meeting on January
21, my name is Alex Kasprak. I gave you some information regarding noise and dust control. We heard
a lot of good questions at the last session. Most of the information we talked about was general in
nature. Questions started coming back in terms of noise monitoring and the noise limits that we
established. I’m going to go through those questions tonight and then I can answer any further
questions you have afterwards.
I don’t know how many of you were at the meeting on January 21 but I think it’s important to spend a
few minutes to talk about what MassDOT did in order to address the environmental concerns and
environmental impacts. I want to bring everyone up to speed in regards to noise and then I’ll follow up
with the silica dust and asbestos concern. I want to start by talking about the specifications that
MassDOT originally developed regarding noise mitigation. At the public information meeting on
January 21 I indicated that we knew there would be some concerns regarding noise. MassDOT
developed a contract specification that went into the bid document. The specification requires the
contractor as part of the bid package to provide information and direction on how the contractor is
supposed to address noise. The specification document had its roots in the Central Artery Tunnel Project
and it was used extensively throughout the entire project. It provides an effective tool for minimizing
noise impacts during construction activity. This specification has further been used on MassDOT project’s
such as the Fore River Bridge Project in Quincy. Another example is the Kenneth F. Burns Bridge Project
in Worcester. The third example that I just realized as I was driving over here tonight was on the
Commonwealth Avenue Overpass spanning over I-90 in Boston.
The specification requires the contractor to develop what we call a construction Noise Control Plan
(NCP). The contractor is required to develop the NCP and submit it for approval to MassDOT before
construction work begins. Given the construction equipment that is going to be used and the location of
the work, the contractor has to project what the impacts will be based on the equipment and location.
The NCP predicts the impacts compared to the applicable noise limits. If the projections of the noise
limits are preceded the contractor is required to implement mitigation measures to reduce the noise
impacts. Those measurements could be as simple as putting up a noise shield or it could be as simple as
changing the means and methods such as using a quieter piece of equipment. It is the contractor’s
responsibility which is the burden of the specification to comply with the document to meet the noise
limit criteria. MassDOT will oversee that contractor complies with the NCP. While the plan is submitted
prior to the start of construction it will be updated every 4 months. If the contractor changes equipment
he will have to update the NCP and resubmit it for approval. On January 21 I mentioned that there
were noise limits established at the receptor points at 2 locations. One of those points is what we call
the lot-line. The lot-line is the closest residential limit to construction activity. For this project the
receptors are basically all residential homes. There are 3 locations that we established noise limits for. I
mentioned that for those lot-line limits there are different times of the day where limits are established.
The first is during the day time between the hours of 7am and 6pm. The second is the evening between
the hours of 7pm and 10pm, and the last is the night period between the hours of 10pm and 7am.
As far as the limits we established, the day time is the noisiest time of the day. There is a lot of traffic
and activity happening naturally. The evening limits are slightly lower and the night time is the quietest
period. There is also a second limit that the contractor has to comply with that has been put in the
specification. This limit is called the equipment noise emission limit. This means that the contractor’s
has to monitor his equipment at 50 feet to ensure that it does not exceed a limit for that particular piece
of equipment. In the specification we list dozens of pieces of equipment with their limits established at
50 feet. The purpose of that is to make sure that the contractor’s equipment doesn’t exceed those limits.
You may be wondering how we came up with the baseline noise limits. As I mentioned I was here on
January 21 but it was not the first time I had been to the project site. The specifications require the
contractor to monitor the baseline or monitor the background at the lot-line receptors. MassDOT
decided to do these baseline limits directly rather than having the contractor do it so we know what the
limits are. In January 2014, we went out and monitored 3 different locations. We took it upon ourselves
to come up with the baseline noise monitors to establish what the noise ratings were. Once we
Page 4
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
established what those levels were we set the limits in the specification that went out in the bid package.
We monitored the following 3 locations: The Hampstead Road and Arborway Hillside; the Asticou Road,
Martinwood, and South Street Neighborhood; as well as the Arborway Gardens and Washingtonian
Court.
This is a graphic to visually show you these areas. Area 1 in green is the Hampstead Road, Arborway
Hillside area. Area 2 is the Asticou Road, South Street Area. Area 3 is the Arborway Gardens,
Washingtonian Court area. These are the 3 areas that we did monitoring at to come up with the
baseline noise limits in the specification. We hired a noise consultant to do the monitoring for us. The
initial setup of the equipment and monitoring took place in January 2014. If we just put the specification
in the contract bid document, the specification noise limit table would have been in there. This table
happens to be for noise sensitive receptors. This being residents, hospitals, hotels, and locations where
people need to sleep. There are two other locations, one for commercial and another for industrial
locations. I didn’t add those because they are not relevant to this project.
This is where the questions came up last time about the baseline noise limits. I like to describe it as an
either-or way to establish limits. The City of Boston has noise limits. What we did was compared our
baseline numbers to the City of Boston. For each time of the day there are 2 different noise levels. One
is called a L10 which is a continuous noise and the other is called a Lmax. The Lmax number is the
highest peak of noise. For impact device equipment we have a limit of 90 decibels (dBA). The City of
Boston doesn’t have a limit for the impact equipment. For nighttime work we allow 5 dBA above the
baseline. The results are as follows. For Hampstead Road and the Arborway Hillside Area 1 the L10 is
75 and the Lmax is 85 for the daytime. The controlling number was the City of Boston’s 75. The L10
was 74 and when we monitored we came up with 69 for the baseline. The same goes for the nighttime.
You can see that the loudest numbers are during the day and the quietest are at night for the noise
limits. For the Asticou Road, Martinwood Neighborhood the noise limits were 75 dBA for L10, 85 dBA
for the Lmax impact. The evening was 64 dBA and the nighttime was 61 dBA.
Q: Name Not Given (NNG): Can you table this? It’s too detailed.
A: AK: Okay. These were the questions in terms of what the limits were.
Q: NNG: In general, could you just tell us the amount of dBA that someone could withstand if they wanted
to sleep?
A: AK: I put a table in the presentation that gives you an idea of where we are for construction equipment.
Construction equipment is around 100 dBA. More examples include a normal conversation at home
which registers around 50 dBA all the way up to a space shuttle launch around 160 dBA. That covers my
presentation regarding noise. In regards to crystalline silica I want to address some of the question that
came up at the last meeting. We know that silica dust is a naturally occurring product and present in
many types of soil and beach sand. It’s also in all concrete. In regards to addressing silica dust we know
it’s harmful if it’s inhaled. The contractor’s health and safety plan directly addresses silica dust. In order
to do so the contractor assumes that all the concrete in the bridge is made up of 5% silica concentration
in the Casey Overpass. During demolition activities, the main mitigation method will be the use of
water. The contractor has to meet that requirement for health and safety of the workers as well as
MassDOT requirements. There will be silica dust monitoring going on during the demolition of the
structure.
Q: NNG: Who monitors?
A: AK: The contractor as well as MassDOT field staff.
C: NNG: Thank you.
Page 5
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
C: AK: The question of asbestos safety came up at the last meeting. MassDOT at our request did testing
performed by 2 independent contractors. We looked at 10 locations including the deck, piers, and
abutments. A total of 20 samples were analyzed by 2 different laboratories and the results were good.
The result was that there is no asbestos in the concrete. We hope that these finds eliminate your
concern.
Q: NNG: So you’re saying that you did this testing in the last 2 months?
A: AK: Yes.
C: NNG: Thank you.
C: AK: I’m going to turn it over to Kevin Huie to discuss the lead paint issue.
C: KH: Thanks Alex. Regarding lead paint, the contractor will follow all of the federal and state regulations
while we are taking down the bridge. We will provide a means and methods control for any lead
departing the structure during demolition. What we are going to do is take off the concrete from the
deck and shear all of the steel beams. We’ll then lower them down to the ground, put them into trailers,
and haul them off the property.
There are a few things I want to touch on regarding traffic. We understand that this is a great concern.
As I mentioned earlier when I was taking about the orange and blue areas, we are going to start on the
east side and work our way to the west side. We are going to implement a cross-over. This means we
have to take out the center median, do some concrete work, and pull the traffic back so it can switch
over from the westbound side to the eastbound side. When we’re doing the cross-over it allows us to
demolish the west side of the abutment so the lower roadway can come down. The cross-over allows for
the traffic to come away from the wall which then allows us to demolish the wall, and close down the
onramp. It will take about a months’ time to do that work. With that, I’m going to turn it over to the
traffic consultant who can go into more detail regarding traffic. The bottom line from me is that we will
be implementing our work from the east to the west. Once we close the Casey Overpass there will be 2
traffic signalized intersections.
C: Gary McNaughton (GM): Good evening, my name is Gary McNaughton. I am the traffic consultant who
did a lot of the original work on this project and I have also been involved in developing the construction
staging plans. The goal for this project is to keep the traffic in this corridor and not to rely on people
diverting into neighborhoods streets. We went through extensive efforts before this went out to
construction to make sure we had significant baseline counts. We’ve worked with the Working Advisory
Group (WAG) and the City of Boston to identify all of the potential roadways where folks might choose to
cut through during construction. We have baseline counts for all of those roads. If volumes start to
change on those roadways we can go out there and mobile new counts in order to asses if there are cut
through patterns. The overall idea is to keep traffic in the project corridor.
As it was stated earlier there are no major detours or directional signage sending people anywhere
outside of the corridor. In order to construct a project like this one in a dense urban area there are
going to be times when the traffic is bad. We are trying to demolish a bridge that has roadways right
alongside of it and there will be some times where traffic is extreme. The goal from a traffic point of
view is to maximize the amount of capacity we have and limit the durations of the more difficult stages
of construction. There will be police details to make sure the traffic is flowing as efficiently as possible
and to ensure that people are paying attention. BTD will be involved. There will be monitoring of the
intersection operations and an extensive temporary signalization put in place. BTD will also be out to
ensure that double parking is not happening as well as to maximize safety.
C: JK: I’m going to be real quick. I’m not too concerned about what we’ve done in the past for public
outreach. The project hotline is right at the bottom of this slide. That will be tended to during all
construction hours. We’re going to continue to have these update meetings; the next one will be in early
Page 6
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
May. We will be constantly updating the project website at every change. We are also going to start
having office hours. Nate and I will be at Curtis Hall on March 24 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. We’re
going to do this every month at least until the bridge comes down. We’ll then evaluate it after that.
Going back to my original comments, I’m here to help in any way that I can. As the construction moves
forward, I will be here as a resource for you. At this point we can start the question and answer session.
Question and Answer
C: Nathaniel Cabral-Curtis (NCC): Hi everyone. This is how we are going to do this. I’m going to read
through the attendance sheets and if you signed up to speak I’ll invite you down to the microphone.
Once we get through that list we will invite anyone down who didn’t have a chance to speak.
C: Robert Peters (RP): Hi I’m Robert Peters and I’m a Mattapan resident. I’m also a former MBTA employee
where I worked out of Forest Hills for 24 years. In those 24 years at least 5 people have been hit by cars
with the roads as they are. When you look at the slide of the traffic going overhead it is exactly what it
looks like; it is a major artery. In Mattapan, our biggest employer is on the other side of the bridge;
Longwood Medical Area. You’re separating our people from our work zone. I think that qualifies as a
civil rights violation. If you were to remove the bridge it would tie up traffic.
C: JK: Do you have a question sir? This is a question and answer session. We understand that there will
be major impacts and if you want we can meet afterwards.
C: RP: I have one question. To set this up, when we did the Big Dig there was infrastructure we got that
was supposed to be used to repair bridges. There are ways to build new bridges and repair bridges that
I have watched while working at the MBTA. If we built a new overpass we would only interrupt traffic for
a week or two. Have you considered that?
C: JK: Back to my original comments this design and planning process was one of the most involved and
in-depth processes MassDOT has ever undertaken. We have gone through that process and we are now
in construction. My job is to help mitigate against any problems that may potentially arise.
Q: RP: I have one more question. Does anyone at this table think that traffic will be better or as good as it
is now when you’re done?
A: JK: I have full faith and confidence it will work.
A: NCC: As do I.
Q: Pat Suhrcke (PS): My name is Pat Suhrcke and I live in Roslindale. There are two ways to Boston from
Roslindale; Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue. I wonder what plans you have for easing traffic
approaching the demolition site on these two roads. I also wonder what plans you have for parking at
Forest Hills Station for commuters. I also wonder about the buses that go to Mattapan, Dudley Station,
West Roxbury, Hyde Park, and Roslindale during the reconstruction of the bus-ways.
A: Chris Evasius (CE): My name is Chris Evasius. I’m an assistant district construction engineer at MassDOT
district 6 in Boston. Regarding the Washington Street area, it’s an active roadway and when there are
activities on that roadway they will be off peak. As far as the demolition, that is one of the locations
where the span goes over Washington Street which will be done at night. The actual effect on
Washington Street as part of our work will be mitigated by us working off peak at night. When we are
working during peak hours we will have police officers to help traffic move through the work zone. As it
was discussed at the last meeting there are allocations for the state to work with BTD to enhance the
enforcement throughout all the corridors. Regarding the parking at the Forest Hills Station, the
contractor has procured his two licenses right now. Any activities that happen will be coordinated with
Page 7
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
the MBTA. The contractor is required through that license to work with the MBTA. Any bus relocations
or changes to any service at all will come through the MBTA. We have Tom Rovero from the MBTA in
our field office.
Q: NNG: How will they let people know about changes to the MBTA?
A: Tom Rovero (TR): For any changes in bus operations we will notify the community with at least 2 weeks
advance notice. The first activity that we will be doing that could have any impact on buses will be the
demolition of the upper bus-way which will take place sometime in late May. We will keep people
posted through the project website.
C: JK: For those of you who haven’t, please sign up with your email address to receive project notifications.
C: Kathryn Deputat (KD): You said sign up to talk so I signed up to talk. I missed the process because I live
in Woodbourne. I have lived there for 20 plus years and I travel through this intersection all the time. I
missed the public process because when I first heard about the project I thought it was ridiculous and it
would never happen.
Q: JK: Do you have a question?
A: KD: I’m taking my time to have my voice. I want to acknowledge Representative Malia who has been
here to every meeting that I’ve been to. I want to know how many in the room are in favor of the
demolition of the bridge? Okay, well how many of you travel through that intersection daily?
C: NNG: Could you please ask a construction question.
Q: KD: How many of you that are in favor of demolishing the bridge travel through that intersection daily?
Okay, thank you. Lastly, I don’t understand what is pictured out there can exist as anything but a
disturbance of the peace. I don’t know what the Arboretum has to say about this. 2 I’m presenting these
things because these are my concerns. The last thing is that there was some time between the last
meeting and this one where the Casey Overpass was closed. It looked like everything was at-grade and
it took me 20 minutes to get through Forest Hills. I don’t know how you’re going to prevent cars from
taking alternate routes. I have no intention of using this road if this project goes through.
A: JK: The road was closed because the contractor has to maintain the potholes and do the snow removal
while the structure is still there. These were emergency repairs.
Q: KD: How do you propose to prevent citizens from taking alternate routes if they want to go to Forest
Hills?
A: JK: They should.
C: KD: I’m talking about during construction. You said that you are going to be taking measures to make
sure people are cutting through the neighborhood.
C: JK: They’re building 2 temporary roadways to alleviate the traffic and once the construction is complete
we’ll handle the volume of traffic.
Q: KD: My next question is that you said you would do counts and monitor the counts of cars that were
taking cut throughs to avoid the intersection. How are you going to monitor and what would you do to
change the cut through traffic in other neighborhoods? In other words, if people want to take an
alternate route, how are you going to prevent them?
2
A member of the Arnold Arboretum’s staff participated in the DAG process and helped design the landscaping
associated with the project.
Page 8
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
A: GM: We’ve done counts and we know how many vehicles travelled both on the side streets and the
main corridor. If it is observed that there is traffic increasing on those roadways we will go out and
recount existing conditions to establish if traffic volumes did increase.
C: KD: You already said that.
C: NNG: If you let him finish then you can decide whether he answered the question or not.
A: GM: We will be reacting to what is going on. If there is a specific detour that people are using because
of something that is going on along the corridor we’ll look at it and see if it is a short term fix or a long
term fix. If we’re doing something for 3 days there isn’t anything we’re going to do to fix the issue. If
there is a long term issue we can look at revising it and ensure that the traffic signals are working
appropriately. We may need to hire more police details.
Q: KD: So you’re not going to prevent people from taking an alternate route?
A: GM: They streets are public, you can’t close them.
C: KD: That’s very nice to know. I don’t understand where the actual highway starts. How do you go from
2 lanes to 7 lanes?
C: NNG: Why don’t you go on the website and look at the previous material.
A: CE: That question has been answered but if you aren’t familiar one of us can help you through stage 5
on the construction boards in the lobby. If you look at that plan it shows the permanent alignment of the
roadways.
Q: KD: Why is monitoring of dust needed? Aren’t there protocols for demolishing a concrete bridge?
A: JK: Yes and as part of those protocols is to monitor to ensure that the containment is being done. Dust
is something we deal with on every construction job. We follow the protocols set forth by the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and by the state and federal regulations. It is the most
effective way to monitor.
Q: KD: So the protocol is proven to be safe and non-toxic?
A: JK: Yes.
Q: KD: Where can we find evidence of that?
A: JK: I can send you a link from OSHA if you would like.
C: KD: Okay, thank you.
C: JK: I want everyone’s attention for a moment. We are here to answer questions about the construction
phase and the next 90 days. If you have any other types of comments or question the team and I will be
available afterwards. This forum is for the construction questions only please.
Q: Todd Consentino (TC): My name is Todd Consentino and I live in Roslindale. My question is about the
southwest corridor bicycle path. Once the staging road on New Washington Street is built, I’m
wondering where the path will dump out once the temporary roadway is in place.
A: Jonathan Kapust (JK): My name is Jonathan Kapust and I am with HNTB. I am a consultant to
MassDOT. When the bridge is demolished and the new head house is built the path will stay directly
Page 9
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
where the mid-block crossing is. The head house is the entrance and exit that will provide access to the
Orange Line platform. The bicycle path will then be routed to either corner of the block depending on
which direction you want to go. The important thing to note is that sidewalks in later stages can move
over time. There will be signage and way-finding for pedestrians to get to the Forest Hills Station.
C: TC: Thank you.
Q: NNG: Does this project have a purpose and if so, what would that purpose be? 3
A: JK: I’m sure that question was addressed during the design phase, we are now in construction.
Q: HM Owens (HMO): I live in the Hyde Park, Mattapan area. If you look around the audience you’ll
notice that there are not a lot of people of color here. Gentleman Peters addressed the issue of this
being a civil rights violation. I would like to know about that. My real question is as follows. Is the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involved in this conversation? Have they made any
determination about the environmental impacts for the people who live here? There are 24,000 cars
coming down off the bridge that will now be at street level. Has the EPA been involved at all?
A: JK: This job is fully permitted through the EPA and other agencies.
C: NNG: The EPA was not involved at all. I think you gave the wrong answer. The EPA is a federal
agency.
A: JK: It was permitted through the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) and the state.
C: NNG: Correct, the EPA was not involved in this at all. You gave the wrong answer. I think you need to
address giving the wrong answer.
Q: NNG: I wrote my question to the Governor in October of 2013. Dear Governor Patrick. Please help
our neighborhood. Anyone using the Casey Overpass in Jamaica Plain is aware that there has been
intentional neglect for years. It appears that MassDOT has attempted to impede the traffic and divert it
elsewhere. These announcements declared the overpass to be closed for 3 weekends for long overdue
emergency repairs. These repairs actually took one day to complete. When MassDOT implemented the
at-grade solution 24,000 cars and trucks will join the traffic at-grade and face 5 new traffic signals. This
is like putting Route 9 in the middle of our neighborhood. Even worse, it will completely divide the
neighborhood. The pollution from these vehicles idling at stop lights can only negatively impact the
neighborhood. We have been told that this is a done deal and that the coming train wreck cannot be
stopped. Our pleas to MassDOT have been politely listened to and ignored.
C: JK: Unfortunately I have to go back to what I said earlier. When you have a construction project in this
type of neighborhood there are impacts. We are here to help mitigate those impacts. We’re here to
address those concerns and if you have other concerns or questions we’ll address them after.
C: NNG: We’ve been ignored for 3 years; you’re going to keep hearing us.
C: JK: My job is to listen to you and help mitigate the issues as much as I can.
C: NNG: I have something to say to everyone and that is that there is a website now that you can reach at
jpatthecrossroads.org. On that website you will find information about the lethal toxins that you
gentleman plan to introduce into the atmosphere of Jamaica Plain. We’re talking about crystalline and
silica dust. Once it enters the lungs it never leaves. It causes cancers and other repertory diseases.
Since this project as no constructive purpose what so ever in any sphere because this project will make
3
The purpose of the Casey Arborway project is to address a structurally deficient bridge. This was discussed at
length during the design process.
Page 10
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
traffic worse every place it touches. How dare you come into Jamaica Plain and try to poison our
children. We will resist you, we will stop you.
C: JK: Thank you.
Q: Mary Hickie (MH): My name is Mary Hickie and I like at Martinwood Road. I have a question about a
traffic issue that came up in the neighborhood today. I wanted to know if it is something that we should
expect to continue. Today as I was coming home I noticed that the traffic lights at the intersection under
the bridge and also at South Street and Washington Street were flashing. It was causing some chaos
during rush hour. I don’t know what the cause was but I’m wondering if this is something that is likely to
happen again?
A: CE: The traffic signal issue today was caused by melting snow. We have spoken with James Gillooly
with BTD. It is something that may happen again as all the snow melts. All of the intersections are
continuously monitored by BTD as well as the contractor and MassDOT staff. I can’t tell you that the
problem won’t happen again. I can tell you that we have our eye on it and we can fix it if it does
happen.
Q: MH: Would it be possible to have the police detail just take over if it happens again?
A: CE: Mr. Gillooly stated that once the problem was known a police detail was dispatched. By the time
the police detail made it to that location the problem was fixed. That answer to your question would be
yes.
Q: Giannalda Fontana (GF): I have a question regarding the office hours. You explained it earlier but
there was not enough information.
A: JK: Nate and I are going to go to Curtis Hall once a month for 2 hours between 5:30pm to 7:30pm. It
will start on March 24. If there are any concerns that you have with the project you can come in and talk
with Nate and myself.
Q: NNG: Will that be an arranged meeting every month?
A: NCC: March 24 is a Tuesday and it is based on what was available at the Curtis Hall. We’ll see how
things go that first night. If people don’t show up we’ll try a different night. If it turns out well we’ll stick
with Tuesdays.
Q: NNG: Could it be the last Tuesday of every month?
A: NCC: If it works out well, yes.
C: Caryn Kauffmen (CK): My name is Caryn Kauffmen and I live in the Stonybrook neighborhood. I’ve
lived there for 30 years. I know you all acknowledge that things have been pretty terrific and when I
tried to get out of my neighborhood the other day it took 20 minutes for me to turn around and find an
alternate route. I’ve always thought that I’d miss the bridge once it’s gone and I probably will but I’ve
accepted the reality that the bridge is coming down. The bridge is coming down, it’s going to be a mess,
it’s going to be a mess for a while, and it’s going to be a really big mess. I was driving home from
Dedham and I saw the VMS boards that said seek alternate route. I thought to myself how am I going to
find a route that doesn’t go over the bridge? My question is, what kind of outreach have you done to
the outlining communities so that they have some ideas about alternate routes? If this is a done deal
and the mess is going to be there what are we going to do help all the folks know that it is coming. I
think those of us who only live in the immediate area are the ones who have been following this for the
last 3 years. Thank you.
Page 11
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
A: CE: I’d like to answer the question that was brought up. The contract includes and the contractor has
installed 9 VMS boards around the outskirts of the project. The board that reads seek alternate routes is
not for you; it’s for someone else who wants to come through this area to find a different way.
Specifically there has not been an effort to reach out to every single person who sees that VMS board.
MassDOT has hotlines and emails.
Q: NNG: Wouldn’t it help to do a mass mailing?
C: CK: Yes. You could also advertise it in the newspaper.
A: JK: These meetings have been published in a variety of newspapers in a variety of languages in a very
large geographic circle.
C: NNG: You need to go out to different communities.
C: CE: Regarding the snow point to your question. The contractor is responsible for clearing the snow of
the immediate work area and the City retains its responsibility as well. The MBTA also owns
responsibility for their area. If there is a specific snow issue you should reach out to the City. If it is not
theirs they will communicate to us or the MBTA depending on whose responsibility it is.
C: JK: Just so everyone is aware, Representative Homles and Representative Malia are here with us tonight
and are often out in the community. They are in contact with us anytime they see problems and we
respond to their request a lot.
C: Helen Raizen (HR). My name is Helen Raizen and I live at 75 Arborway. I attended the last meeting and
I tried contacting John Romano many times by email. One time he told me he would get back to me but
he never did. It seems like my concerns which are the following have been ignored. Since you put up
the VMS boards on the eastbound side directing traffic to the single lane, every time I’ve been out
between the hours of 3:30pm and 4:00pm the traffic has been backed up all the way to Murray Circle.
You’ve barley done anything and it’s already bad. My question is, you say you have a hotline and an
email address but I feel like my concerns about traffic have been ignored.
C: JK: Traffic is going to be difficult because there are going to be certain situations where the contractor
has to perform certain activities that snarl traffic. If you get in touch with me I’ll reach out and email our
resident engineer to get you an answer.
C: HR: I’ve complained about it for 3 weeks and then I stopped complaining because it wasn’t doing
anything. Last week when I made that trip around 3:45pm on a weekday the traffic was backed up all
the way to Murray Circle. I appreciate that you’re trying to act responsive but I have a hard time feeling
that you are responsive to this situation.
C: JK: The snow situation that the Commonwealth has been dealing with has really hurt a lot of roads in a
lot of places.
C: HR: I saw this before the snow.
C: JK: Well in that case then what you saw took place before we started construction activity.
C: HR: It has nothing to do with snow. Let me ask my other question.
A: CE: I just want to shed a little light on your concern. We didn’t actually put up a new sign we just
realigned an existing one.
C: HR: In January you said that there was going to be no impact to traffic. I heard you say that.
Page 12
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
A: CE: We realigned the road on the way to the beginning of demolition. While it appears that we went
out, put up a sign, and then walked away the reality is that we were interrupted in our flow of work by
the snow. I don’t recall anyone saying that there would be no traffic impacts.
C: HR: I understand that you did more than just put up a sign. I was given the impression that if I had a
concern or if I saw traffic patterns changing that I could contract John and then something would be
done about it. I’m wondering why that impression doesn’t seem to have been fulfilled.
A: JK: I can’t speak to that but what I can say is that if you contact me, I will look into it. If there is a
possibility that it can be changed or not, I will communicate it back to you and explain why.
Q: HR: When is the next meeting?
A: NCC: The first week of May.
C: Rosella Salis (RS): Good evening everybody my name is Rosella Salis and I have two questions. You said
you’re here to mitigation and to help us out. I live close to the bridge. I live in one of the housings on
the corner of Forest Hills. It takes me 45 minutes to go from my school where I work to the corner of
Forest Hills. I’m not concerned with traffic any more, I know I will have to live with it. I’m concerned
about my health. I’ve said it before and I’m going to repeat it now. I want MassDOT to buy me a
purifier for my entire house. I have a household with kids. My children need good air. My second point
is regarding the decibels. Thank you for your presentation, I understood everything because I teach
music. I can’t sleep with 60 decibels and I need my 8 hours of sleep. It’s for my health. 10 decibels is a
reasonable amount of sound to sleep. If you think someone can sleep with 60 decibels a night you are
out of your mind.
A: CE: The hours of work for the contractor are from 7:00am to 7:30pm during the weekdays and 7:00am
to 3:30pm on Saturdays. There may be night work required. The vast majority of work including the
hoe-ramp will occur during the hours of 7:00am to 7:00pm. When night work is necessary it will be
permitted through MassDOT as well as the City of Boston. Under emergency conditions we don’t have
the luxury of telling construction crews to wait until the day time. When we do the demolition work it is
not under emergency conditions. The contractor is obligated to abide by the contract which includes
noise suppression.
Q: Jeffery Ferris (JF): Jeffery Ferris of Ferris Wheels Bike Shop and other things. I’ve been involved in this
project for 3 years and I’ve often heard it referred to as the robust process that has happen over the
years. Nathaniel, I think you have been with us for the entire project. Since you refer to this project as a
wonderful project and what great planning it was, why do you think there is still so much dissent in this
project?
C: JK: We’re here to talk about construction for the next 90 days.
Q: JF: I’m addressing Nathaniel as the community participation expert. Can you help us understand why
there is so much dissent after 3 years of this process? Can you address why so much of this community
has been ignored over the last 3 years? The majority of people comments and writing emails oppose
this project so why has MassDOT continued to ignore us?
A: NCC: Jim, do you want me to address that?
C: JK: No, it’s not pertinent to the construction phase. I was not involved in the process but everything that
I have learned about this is that all input was taken, a decision was made, and now we are here. My job
is to mitigate the impacts to the neighborhood of the construction process.
Q: JF: Part of the concept for this project is based on new urbanism and that urban bridges are bad for
communities. In many places it’s been good to take down elevated roadways. Massachusetts just took
Page 13
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
down the viaduct in Fall River. Here we are looking to tear down a viaduct and we’ve been told this is
the right idea because it’s always good to takedown viaducts. This seems like a follow the leader
exercise. On every one of your slides it says leading the nation in transportation excellence. Do you
really call this leading the nation in transportation excellence?
A: JK: I do. Do you have any construction questions?
Q: JF: I do. Part way through the WAG process we were told that because an at-grade solution was the
best replacement for the bridge that there would be some extra money to build bicycle accommodations
along Washington Street between Ukraine Way and the Casey Arborway. Now that the project has
grown including the extra 10 million that you guys don’t like to talk about.
A: JK: I’ll explain that once you’re finished.
Q: JF: There is an addition 10 million to meet all of the accessibility requirements for the entire MBTA
station. Is that bicycle accommodation still going to be included even though there isn’t extra money in
the project anymore?
A: JK: This project is being built and has been 100% designed. We can show you in the lobby what the
final project will look like. Yes, the bicycle lanes will be included.
Q: JF: Despite the cost increasing more than what they told us.
C: JK: I’m not familiar with that sir.
C: JF: Maybe Nathaniel can answer that.
A: NCC: Whatever was in the project is still in the project. They haven’t removed anything.
C: JF: Thank you.
C: John Spears (JS): My name is John Spears. I am an architect, I am not an environmental engineer but I
have been a project leader for my entire career. I review specifications and help develop specifications.
My question is when are we going to get a comprehensive dust control specification for this project. For
everyone’s information if anything is over .1% of crystal silicate it could have 50 times more but I’ve
heard its closer to 90 times more. There is a difference between materials and dust. Materials have
things like particulars. Crystal silicate is basically like shards of glass. You need monitoring stations, you
need baselines, you need to monitor what’s airborne, and you need to monitor what’s on the surfaces
with 1,500 square feet of the project. It has to be done. Noise is very problematic and it’s annoying.
However the dust can kill you. This is basically a horizontal world trade center. It has to be
professionally done. If it is not, there will be severe problems.
Q: JF: Could you address the extra 10 million dollars and explain where it’s coming from?
A: JK: It’s actually not an extra 10 million dollars. When we talk internally about the cost of a project we
base that conversation largely on what the contractor will bid. There are also certain things for
contingencies such as utility work and police details. That’s where the 10 million is put aside for.
C: JF: As I understand it, the size of this project and the MBTA station triggers that every access point of the
station must be addressed in terms of accessibility. This is not in Barletta’s contract but a different
requirement beyond what Barletta is doing.
C: Isidoro Perez (IP): I’m the highway deputy administrator. For every project we use a cost estimating tool.
We never want to plan to have to ask for more money to finish the job. The Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) compliance issues on this job have been calculated.
Page 14
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
C: Jack O’Dell (JOD): Hi my names Jack and I live on Asticou Road. I have two questions. The first is
related to sound. I live in one of the highlighted areas. The decibel thing is a little abstract for me. I
would like a better understanding as to how effective the controls are. There were 4 projects named that
these controls have been used on. Is there a way of saying or showing how the complaints have
dropped? I’m looking for a different way of understanding how effect this is.
A: AK: The limits that went into the specification and that are now in the NCP for the Asticou Road area,
the contractor must meet those limits. If those limits are exceeded then he has to implement some
mitigation measures. The specification goes into a lot of details of the different types of mitigation
measures. If there are still issues the hotline number is set up just for that reason. There is a procedure
in response for the contractor to follow.
Q: JOD: What is the turn around?
A: AK: They have 24 to 48 hours.
Q: JOD: My second question is regarding the police details. Can you give us a rough sense of the police
details and how they will be deployed? Will there be police out there all the time?
A: CE: We use police details whenever we work in the street. It may be a state, local, or MBTA officer.
They will be there when we work and have any chance of impacting traffic. Any additional police details
will be ordered if necessary and put into service as required in coordination with BTD.
Q: Deanna Keene (DK): My name is Deanna Keene and I’m a bridge supporter. I wanted to follow up on
the police detail. Do you have police officers coming to monitor the lights? What I mean by that is
people taking left-hand turns when they’re not supposed to during the construction process.
A: CE: When we order a police detail it is to support construction. That doesn’t mean if they see someone
breaking the law they don’t act, they do. In this contract this are some allocations for increased
enforcement. If we feel through working with BTD that there are actions being taken by motorist which
are effecting safety or construction we can get additional details. Details are subject to change and they
may have to as we move through the job.
Q: DK: By way I comment I would like to say that I very much would appreciate police details place at the
project site specifically to deal with traffic. You also talked about the upper bus-way and the fact that it
may be coming down. I want to know what is going on with the buses. I’m assuming that Bus 39 is
going to move somewhere. Can you run down where the buses are moving?
A: KH: Bus 39 is going to move towards the east as an interim. Eventually through working with the MBTA
Bus 39 will be going to the upper bus-way. We are going to be extended the bus berth and Bus 39 will
be going into that berth. We’re going to be working with the MBTA to take down the bus canopy.
Q: DK: So the upper bus-way doesn’t close down, it just gets worked on? The buses in the upper bus-way
stay up there?
A: KH: Correct, the bus is going to have to get relocated in and out.
C: DK: Alright. Thank you kindly.
Q: NNG: We’ve seen some great stats tonight but we haven’t heard a great deal from the traffic engineer.
Are the traffic studies available to us online? As a follow up to that question, I know there was a study in
2008 that DCR did. The study activity rated the intersections at that time. I’m wondering if the proposed
plan will be better or worse than what the study showed in 2008. A lot of that study showed a Level of
Service (LOS) D or worse. It rendered a lot of the intersections improbable.
Page 15
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
A: GM: Our traffic studies are available on the project website. It is fully documented there. I have one of
the reports with me tonight. We have numbers that show all of the volumes before we started the
project and the projected volumes of growth. We’ve worked closely with the City and the Boston
Redevelopment Authority (BRA). Out there today you are seeing LOS F at those intersections. In future
conditions once the project is construction the LOS is improved.
C: NCC: If you want to see the previous studies all of the documentation that Gary just referred to is under
the documents tab. Below the construction period tab is a link to the archived planning period materials.
That is where you will find everything.
C: JK: If you have any problems finding materials just send me an email.
C: NNG: I’ve been listening carefully to everything that has been taking place. The most important issue
that has been passed over is how we have been treated as residents. I want you to think of Route 203
as the heart of a route that allows us to go from east to west and also north to south. If I’m driving
along and I see a sign that says seek alternate route, there is no other route. This is the only way I go
and this is the only way I know. It’s offensive and disrespectful to this group and to those of us who live
here. Why can’t they have something that says bypass or here’s the way to go to avoid this? An even
better idea would be to say, look at our website and we’ll give you some suggestions as to where to go.
Perhaps you could help out with this. I think that the neighborhood associations close to the Arborway
should have inputs to develop true alternate ways to avoid this construction zone. If you could look into
that it would be appreciated.
Q: Lorraine Fowlkes (LF): I’m Lorraine Fowlkes from Councilor Yancey's Office. There are several seniors
that live along the corridor and several people that are sick. Have you identified where these people
live? 7:00am to 7:00pm of constant hammering is not going to help their health. Have you done
research on the demographics of the people who live there?
A: CE: From a construction point of view, the hours of work were determined by MassDOT. I don’t know
exactly what went into that entire decision. If someone was building a building it would be the same
thing.
C: LF: I hear you but you are working for years that you are talking about and the amount of time.
A: CE: The actual bridge demolition is not 3 years. The project itself is 2 years. The demolition is
scheduled to take 3 months. That’s not 3 months in front of anyone’s house. Its 1,667 feet worth of
bridge; all of the demolition isn’t hoe ramming.
Q: LF: That’s helpful. What is the night work? What is the method by which you will be noticing the
public? You can’t be expecting people to go to a website to figure it out.
A: CE: I’ll answer the first part and then Jim will help out with the second part. If the contractor wants to
work at night he has to ask the permission of MassDOT. If we grant permission to work at night the
reason is not for his convenience, it’s because it is the only way it can be done. I keep bringing up
Washington Street because that is the most obvious answer. When we are demolishing the span over
Washington Street we have to do that at night. We couldn’t do it at 10:00am; it wouldn’t be safe and it
just doesn’t work. Jim will talk about how the email blasts work to notify you about any night work.
A: JK: We have a database of over 1,200 people. Every 3 weeks we send out a look-ahead email
regarding upcoming construction activities. If I get an email from Chris that says night work has been
approved, I will send out a notice 2 weeks prior to that work taking place.
Q: LF: Are you planning on having commercials? This is a very expensive project and I’m assuming there is
money set aside in the budget for public outreach.
Page 16
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
A: JK: Right now of method of communication has been the project website and the email blast. We’ll take
your comments into consideration.
Q: LF: What is the definition of a VMS?
A: JK: I apologize. A VMS is a variable message sign.
A: CE: Those are the giant boards we put out with the flashing words. Sorry for using jargon. We can
change the message if necessary.
Q: LF: You said there are 9 of them?
A: CE: Yes.
Q: LF: Where are they located?
A: CE: I don’t have them memorized. I can get you that information.
A: Joe Colman (JC): There are four on Route 9, one on Route 38, two down on the Boulevard, one on
Granite Avenue, and one on Route 1.
Q: LF: Where is the one for Roslindale?
A: JC: They haven’t put the ones up around the jobsite yet because we haven’t closed anything yet.
Q: LF: This is a concern because you are sending a lot of taxpayers money for a lot of upset tax payers. In
terms of the environmental impact you said that the EPA has not been notified?
A: CE: I think there is a more correct way to look at that question. I am not an environmental expert. The
project was permitted by law through MassDOT and through all of the channels and permits necessary.
It’s difficult to list off all the organizations and communications that took place. Rests assure that the
project permitted through the legal process. MassDOT can’t put projects out without making sure that it
follows all applicable laws and regulations. While the laundry list may not appear to be right on target,
it was permitted legally.
Q: LF: My last question is about demolition. I keep hearing that word. Every time I hear the word
demolition I think dynamite. Before you said there would be no dynamite. Are you reiterating again
that there will be no dynamite?
A: CE: There will be no dynamite. There won’t be any blasting on this contract.
C: NNG: I have one specific question. I live on Weld Hill Street and I am hoping that you are planning to
provide baseline information when you extend that shelf over the parking lot. It’s a little piece of the
project that people don’t know about but it’s my neighborhood.
A: JK: The sound limits are taken at the closest lot line of that area.
C: NNG: Well it wasn’t shared up there on your slide.
A: CE: That shading in no way was meant to show that those areas would be protected and others
wouldn’t. What Alex was depicting was where the baseline noise limits where taken. The contractors
operations are governed by the City of Boston’s regulations.
Page 17
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc.
C: NNG: You’re talking about noise from the overpass but there is also construction going on at Forest
Hills MBTA station along Washington Street. That part of the bus-way is going to be pushed back.
A: KH: The Washington Street side is the closest lot line.
Q: NNG: Can I ask who is responsible for when something is found to be wrong? Who makes the decision
on how to mitigate that?
A: CE: The responsible party to this project is MassDOT’s Construction Office at District 6.
Q: NNG: It’s they who determine if shields need to be put up for noise which could cause the project to be
delayed a month?
A: CE: One of the things you should bear in mind is just because we make the contractor do something
doesn’t make it a defensible delay. It doesn’t mean that any delay he has is the state’s problem. To
answer your specific question, if the contractor is working in an area and we decide that sound shields
are needed it is not a defensible delay. The schedule is owned by the contractor. If an issue comes up
where the contractor has to change his means and methods, that’s his problem.
Q: NNG: Is he fined a certain amount of money a day for going off schedule? Is there a penalty for
delays?
A: CE: There are incentives and disincentives clauses in the contract. For every day the contractor is late to
close the overpass he is fined $26,000. For everyday he is late to finish the job on time he is fined
$46,000.
A: JK: Thank you all very much for coming out. My contact information is provided and I look forward to
working with all of you.
Next Steps
It is currently anticipated that the third public information meeting will be held in early May. This meeting
will provide information about the next 90 days of construction and will focus on traffic changes associated
with the closure and demolition of the overpass.
Page 18