Transportation

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE TRANSPORTATION OVERSEERS on Monday gave the go-ahead for a $20.4 million reconstruction along Commonwealth Avenue between Brookline and Boston, which will include building cycle tracks along the roadway.

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About 35,000 vehicles travel the roadway every day, along with 27,000 passengers making use of four Green Line stops, and 30,000 pedestrians, according to MassDOT. About 3,000 cyclists used the road daily in 2014, according to the state.

State Highway Administrator Tom Tinlin said the stretch of roadway “had an inordinate amount of bicycle crashes” and the city worked with the state on the design.

The overhaul will do away with bike lanes between parked cars and traffic lanes, swapping them out for cycle tracks separated by curb between parked cars and the sidewalks – as is the case on much of Manhattan’s avenues and elsewhere.

Before-and-after cross-sections of typical areas of the avenue indicate that the three-lane outbound side of the street will lose a driving lane, bringing it down to two lanes on either side.

David Anderson, MassDOT’s deputy chief for design, said the cycle track will have “essentially eliminated that issue of dooring” – when a car door swings into the path of a bicyclist.

New traffic islands will also give pedestrians shorter distances to cross, according to Anderson’s presentation.

The federal government is set to contribute 80 percent toward the project, according to Boston Transportation Deputy Commissioner James Gillooly.

Bids were about 17 percent above the office estimate and Newport Construction had the winning $17.6 million bid. Contingencies, traffic police and other costs not included in the contract drive the total price up to $20.4 million, according to MassDOT.

Meet the Author Andy Metzger Reporter , CommonWealth magazine About Andy Metzger Andy Metzger joined CommonWealth Magazine as a reporter in January 2019. He has covered news in Massachusetts since 2007. For more than six years starting in May 2012 he wrote about state politics and government for the State House News Service. At the News Service, he followed three criminal trials from opening statements to verdicts, tracked bills through the flumes and eddies of the Legislature, and sounded out the governor’s point of view on a host of issues – from the proposed Olympics bid to federal politics. Before that, Metzger worked at the Chelmsford Independent, The Arlington Advocate, the Somerville Journal and the Cambridge Chronicle, weekly community newspapers that cover an array of local topics. Metzger graduated from UMass Boston in 2006. In addition to his written journalism, Metzger produced a work of illustrated journalism about Gov. Charlie Baker’s record regarding the MBTA. He lives in Somerville and commutes mainly by bicycle. About Andy Metzger Andy Metzger joined CommonWealth Magazine as a reporter in January 2019. He has covered news in Massachusetts since 2007. For more than six years starting in May 2012 he wrote about state politics and government for the State House News Service. At the News Service, he followed three criminal trials from opening statements to verdicts, tracked bills through the flumes and eddies of the Legislature, and sounded out the governor’s point of view on a host of issues – from the proposed Olympics bid to federal politics. Before that, Metzger worked at the Chelmsford Independent, The Arlington Advocate, the Somerville Journal and the Cambridge Chronicle, weekly community newspapers that cover an array of local topics. Metzger graduated from UMass Boston in 2006. In addition to his written journalism, Metzger produced a work of illustrated journalism about Gov. Charlie Baker’s record regarding the MBTA. He lives in Somerville and commutes mainly by bicycle.

Running a little over a half mile from the Boston University Bridge to Packard’s Corner, the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue is particularly busy with Green Line trolleys running down the middle of the road and bikes, cars and pedestrians jockeying over the remaining road and sidewalk.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors already okayed an $81.8 million replacement of the superstructure that brings the avenue over the Massachusetts Turnpike.

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The reconstruction of the roadway will also include water filtration to prevent pollutants from reaching the Charles River, and it will rebuild sidewalks to make them more accessible, according to the state. The project also includes transit signal prioritization – where transit vehicles are given preference at stop lights.