Replace Elevated McGrath Highway with a Boulevard, Says MassDOT Study

Implementing the study's recommendations will take time.

A study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recommends tearing down the McGrath Highway's McCarthy Overpass and replacing it with a street-level boulevard. The implementation of such a proposal, if it were to move forward, is still years away. At a public meeting held Wednesday night at the Argenziano School in Somerville, MassDOT officials said the department studied a number of alternatives, including keeping the McGrath Highway overpass as it is, and concluded that building a street-level boulevard would best accommodate vehicles, public transportation, pedestrians and bicyclists while reconnecting neighborhoods currently divided by the crumbling elevated roadway. "It's the most complete streets alternative," …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Future of McGrath Highway Topic of Wednesday Presentation

Many people want to tear the elevated highway down, but there have been differences of opinion about when and how to do that.

Plans for the McGrath Highway, a crumbling roadway with an overpass many in Somerville want to see torn down, will be discussed Wednesday night at a presentation hosted by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. MassDOT has spent nearly two years conducting a study of the roadway. The study is called, "Grounding McGrath: Determining the Future of the Route 28 Corridor." The state transportation department will present draft recommendations from the study at a meeting scheduled to take place at the Argenziano School at 6 p.m. At a public meeting about the study held in spring of 2012, many members of a passionate crowd urged MassDOT to tear down the McCarthy Overpass, the elevated part of McGrath Highway, immediately. Doing so would…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Should 1950s-Era Overpasses Come Down?

The state is deciding if other Boston neighborhoods will get the treatment Jamaica Plain is receiving — tearing down 1950s-era overpasses in favor of surface roads.

Urban planners no longer love the idea of putting elevated roadways through urban centers. Even so, the state plans to spend millions of dollars shoring up two such overpasses — the McCarthy Overpass in Somerville, which carries the McGrath Highway, and the Bowker Overpass in Back Bay and Kenmore Square, which carries Storrow drive into Fenway — while they decide whether to tear them down and replace them with surface roads. Somerville Patch asked in a poll "Should McGrath Highway be torn down?" and 82 percent of those who responded agreed with the statement, "Yes. It's a crumbling, dangerous curse on Somerville. One reader, Alex, called it the "Brown Monster" and said, "McGrath Highway is to East Somerville what the Berlin Wall was to …

•  9 Comments
• Photos (1)

Michael J Wade

11:06 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

In the 40's the population was 25,000 more than it is now.   more ›

McGrath Highway Repairs Begin July 23

There will be no lane closures, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Repairs to the McCarthy overpass of McGrath Highway are set to begin next week, according to an announcement from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Many in Somerville would like to see the McGrath Highway come down immediately, without the state spending money to repair it before, eventually, taking it down. Here's the announcement from MassDOT: SOMERVILLE – ROUTE 28 (MCGRATH HIGHWAY) OVER WASHINGTON STREET AND MEDFORD STREET – MCCARTHY OVERPASS REPAIR WORK STARTS JULY 23RD Beginning on Monday, July 23 work crews will implement necessary structural repairs to portions of the McCarthy Overpass carrying Route 28 (McGrath Highway) over Washington Street and Medford Street in Somerville. The repair work is needed to address …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

mplo

1:19 pm on Monday, September 3, 2012

Good point, Rob! I couldn't agree with you more wholeheartedly on this! Neither MassDOT or the State gives a rat's ass what the average, ordinary, everyday people want. They're so into their own agenda that they don't care that people's lives could well be at stake due to their petty stalling and pulling rank, which they do whenever they can.   more ›

'Knock The Thing Down,' Says Globe Writer About McGrath Highway

Boston Globe Columnist Paul McMorrow argues MassDOT is looking at Somerville's McGrath Highway with an outdated mindset.

Spirited Crowd Asks MassDOT to Demolish McGrath ASAP

Attendees at a community meeting debated back and forth with state transportation officials about tearing down the McGrath Highway overpass.

"I'll be dead," a woman from the back of the crowd shouted Thursday night during a community meeting about the future of the McGrath Highway, talking about when the highway's overpass might be torn down. "For 11 million bucks, I could take it down," a man commented after a presentation given by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Nearly 130 people, maybe more, attended Thursday's meeting about McGrath Highway, held at the Argenziano School, and nearly everyone in the crowd, it seemed, wanted the state to tear down the rusty old highway immediately. Instead, MassDOT has plans to spend about $11 million in short-term repairs to the roadway while making longer-term plans to ultimately tear it down and build a street-level city …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (1)

Somerville Patch Readers Want McGrath Highway Torn Down

Nearly 82 percent of respondents want the highway overpass taken down to street level.

One reader, Alex, called it the "Brown Monster" and said, "McGrath Highway is to East Somerville what the Berlin Wall was to East Berlin. Tear down this highway!" Another reader, Julia Prange Wallerce, said, "[T]here is no reason why we should be living under the shadow of this ugly and divisive structure." Those comments seem to speak for most Somerville Patch readers, the majority of whom would like the state to tear down the McGrath Highway Overpass, according to results of a poll. We originally posted the poll in September of 2011, and we posted it again on Wednesday in anticipation of a meeting about McGrath Highway scheduled for Thurdasy night. The poll asked, "Should McGrath Highway be torn down?" As of Wednesday night, 82 percent …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Tuesday's 'Greater Somerville': Should McGrath Highway Be Torn Down?

The television discussion comes before a Thursday night meeting about the matter.

Editor's note: The following is from SCATV's "Greater Somerville": Tonight on Greater Somerville, host Joe Lynch is joined by advocates, engineers and representatives from LiveableStreets to discuss the proposal to demolish the McGrath overpass. Rejoining the Union Squre district with Brickbottom and the InnerBelt sounds great, but how do we pay for it? Tune in tonight on channel 3, SCATV, 7:30 PM and join the discussion. See the taped show on channel 3 or go to greatersomerville.wordpress.com later in the week to watch.

• Photos (1)

UPDATE: McGrath Reopening After Somerville FD Battled Auto Body Blaze

Two victims were treated for burns at the scene. A second alarm has been struck for the building fire, according to Fire Department radio transmissions.

Update, 11:40 a.m.: Emergency personnel are clearing the scene. As the equipment is removed, they are opening lanes on McGrath Highway. Update 11:20 a.m.: Emergency officials will reopen Broadway imminently, according to radio reports. Update 11 a.m.: The auto body shop in question is Fellsway Auto Repair. Fireifghters just radioed that the fire is knocked down and they are checking now for any extensions into the walls or ceiling. Update, 10:50 a.m.: The fire is now apparently under control. Boston fireifghters are clearing the scene. Update 10:50 a.m.: Crews from Boston, Medford and Cambridge have also responded to the fire. Update, 10:45 a.m.: Fire companies from Chelsea and other communities are covering Somerville's stations as city …

• Photos (4)

Somerville Patch Readers Say They Want McGrath Torn Down

Based on our poll, along with comments and on-the-street interviews, there's a noticeable desire to tear down the McGrath Highway.

Somerville wants the McGrath Highway torn down. At least that's the conclusion of a poll run on Somerville Patch, in addition to comments made by people online and on the street. The poll, which asked, "Should McGrath Highway be torn down," received 77 responses, and 74 percent of the respondents (57 votes) said, "Yes. It's a crumbling, dangerous curse on Somerville." 25 percent of respondents (20 votes) said, "No. It's a much-needed thoroughfare that should remain as is." The poll, of course, is not scientific.  Most people people on the street interviewed by Somerville Patch for a series of You Said It videos on the topic agreed the highway should come down. "I think the McGrath Highway is terrifying. It never should have been built and …

• Photos (1)