Muddy River: Brookline Ave to Become One-Way in September

As the large-scale Muddy River construction project continues on in the Fenway neighborhood, a schedule was announced this week for a major traffic change around the Landmark Center circle. 

Starting on September 8, according to the New England Corps of Engineers, Brookline Avenue will become a one-way street between the Riverway and park Drive. The change will happen at night, according to Mike Keegan, the project's manager. 

" That will allow us to have all of the traffic signals interconnect cables ready for the morning rush hour," he said in an email update. 

Keegan also said that an extra lane is currently being constructed along Brookline Avenue to help handle traffic flow issues during the change. 

"That will allow four lanes of traffic to still travel inbound when we close the two lanes that currently travel outbound," he said. 

With the new change in place, traffic coming down Brookline Avenue or Boylston Street outbound that wants to continue down Brookline Avenue to the medical center will need to travel around the rotary between Brookline Avenue,the Riverway and along Fenway. New traffic signals will be installed to ease the congestion that occurs when traffic traveling down Park Drive from Brookline tries to merge with traffic exiting the Riverway from Brookline. 

Work on the $93 million Muddy River Restoration Project, an environmental, preservation and flood control project to address serious flooding and environmental issues along the Muddy River, started earlier this year. 

Phase 1, which is expected to be completed in three years and cost $31 million, will involve day-lighting of the river between the Riverway and Avenue Louis Pasteur by removing two 72-inch culverts, the installation of two 24-foot x 10-foot precast concrete culverts under the Riverway and Boylston Street, vehicular traffic and pedestrian improvements and significant landscape improvements to new and existing sections of the river channel. 

Upcoming Work to be Done in August

• Work will continue to remove islands, sidewalks and other paved areas that need to be removed, including the intersection of Park Drive with the Riverway, southeast of Brookline Avenue and other areas. 
• Removal of traffic signals and NSTAR roadway lights that interfere with the project. 
• Drilling shafts into the former Sears parking lot area. 
• Waterline relocations. 

You can see the full list of Muddy River Project construction activities from now through the end of August here.