Somerville Patch Readers Want McGrath Highway Torn Down

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.

As of Wednesday night, 82 percent of those who responded agreed with the statement, "Yes. It's a crumbling, dangerous curse on Somerville." Some 17 percent said, "No. It's a much-needed thoroughfare that should remain as is." (Those numbers include results since the poll was first posted in September.)

Not everyone wants to see the highway come down. Anna Johnson commented, "I don't believe that the overpass should be removed. If you look at the traffic during rush hour, it is already at a standstill and backed up from Highland Ave. to Mystic Ave. in the morning. Would anyone really want all of these cars on grade level?"

Another reader, "A," said, "I have mixed feelings. As a local auto driver, this is my best route to Boston and Cambridge. How many more stop lights would I be sitting at, and how backed up would traffic get because of those lights, including pedestrian crossings?"

Thursday night's meeting about McGrath Highway starts at 6 p.m. at the .

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