Last updated on January 22, 2015
Over the weekend, the project to raze the Casey Overpass and replace it with a network of surface roads took a giant step forward.
The state Department of Transportation put the $61 million project out to bid. Here’s how the bid announcement looked in Saturday’s Globe.
The full bid advertisement (which is very long) is pasted at the bottom of this post.
The decrepit overpass has long been reduced to one lane in each direction to cut down on loose concrete falling from the bridge — or worse.
In recent months, the process has been delayed while the Massachusetts Historical Commission reviewed plans to turn Shea Circle, the rotary at the Franklin Park end of the bridge, into a regular intersection with traffic lights. The commission wanted proof that destruction of the 1939 traffic circle is worth it in terms of increasing safety for pedestrians, bike riders and car drivers. The commission told the public who attended an April 4 meeting that there was no “reasonable and prudent” alternative to the demolition.
Once construction begins, it is expected to last through fall 2016.
Some residents continue to fight the project’s design, urging authorities to instead rebuild a bridge.
