Site For New Framingham Salt Facility Selected

FRAMINGHAM, MA — MassDOT has selected a site for a new road salt storage facility in Framingham, a key step to fixing flooding problems along Route 9 near the Route 126 overpass.

A MassDOT contractor will pitch the idea for the new facility at 1672 Worcester Road — currently a park-and-ride lot — to the Conservation Commission on Wednesday. If MassDOT gets approval for the facility, it would allow the state to demolish a salt shed that's located inside the loop of the eastbound Route 9 on-ramp at Concord Street/Route 126.

With the shed gone, MassDOT can upgrade drainage basins on either side of Route 9 to handle more water. A MassDOT spokesperson said Tuesday the agency plans to advertise the drain project in May. That's good news because MassDOT had previously projected the drain project wouldn't go to bid until 2022.

The flooding issue came to a head last summer when state Reps. Maria Robinson, Carmine Gentile and Jack Lewis, Senate President Karen Spilka, Mayor Yvonne Spicer and District 5 Councilor Robert Case wrote a joint letter to MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack and Gov. Charlie Baker urging a rapid fix for the flood-prone road.

Since then, the state passed a $16.5 billion transportation bond bill that includes $2 million to fix the Route 9 flooding.