| The MetroWest legislative delegation decided to keep a project to restore I-495/Route 9 in Mobility 2040, its long-range transportation plan for the Central Massachusetts region.
The delegation has also included the I-90/I-495 Interchange Improvements Project in the Capital Investment Plan. Both projects had previously been considered for removal from the list of projects prioritized for state-wide infrastructure investment. They are both considered traffic bottlenecks, having been listed on the 495/MetroWest Region’s Top Ten Transportation Nightmares in 2014.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which proposed the I-90/I-495 Interchange Improvements Project be included, provided funding options for the project and stated that the agency “will continue to work on this project’s planning, design and environmental” analysis.
Legislators from 495/MetroWest corridor advocated for the inclusion of these two projects in a letter to Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack listing their concerns for the safety, congestion and economic potential of the region if the projects were removed from the list of priority investments.
“The 495/9/90 interchanges are critical to the 495/MetroWest economy, which is responsible for over $21 billion in annual payroll and 1 out of every 11 jobs in the commonwealth,” Jessica Strunkin, deputy director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership, said in a statement.
