Mass Pike construction underway as lane closures cause major disruptions for drivers
Construction on the Mass Pike near the Newton-Weston town line in Massachusetts is now underway, backing up traffic as the highway is reduced to one lane in both directions.
As anticipated, traffic conditions started off slow on Saturday morning and continued throughout the day. To take a live look at the current delays, head to the map.
Mass Pike closure
MassDOT has closed a two-mile stretch of the Pike from Weston to Newton, leaving only one lane open in each direction. It's all part of a massive bridge replacement project by the I-95 interchange.
The lane closures this weekend start on Friday, May 30, at 9 p.m. and last through Monday, June 2, at 5 a.m. Residual delays could extend into the Monday morning commute, transportation officials said. A second weekend of closures is planned for Friday, June 20, at 9 p.m. until Monday, June 23, at 5 a.m.
The bridge construction impacts the Commuter Rail as well, shutting down part of the Worcester Line. will replace trains between Framingham and South Station.
How to prepare for Mass Pike closure
Highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver advised people to seek alternative routes. He said that if traffic can be limited to 50% of what it typically is, then the delays can be manageable. The Mass Pike can usually see 100,000 cars on an average weekend day, and Guliver said it could result in two- to three-hour delays.
He recommends using Route 2 or Route 9.
"I went on Route 9 to get around it. So I saw it. Got off and then got back on later," Chelsea resident Dan Schuette said.
Commuters planning ahead
While some commuters say that they were aware of the shutdown and planned ahead, others were left completely surprised by the traffic.
"It's a heavy volume congested into that bottleneck. Just what it is, man, just takes time," said Christian Santana, a truck driver who uses the Pike seven days a week. "I'm a little bit behind. I expect it's gonna slow me down even further. But it's just getting past that part. At least it's not the whole pike," he said.
Serge Lindor was driving from Dorchester to Connecticut this weekend.
"I didn't know about it until now, so had I known about it I would've left much earlier. So hopefully, I'm not late," Lindor said.
