I-95 Exit Project In Waltham Finished: MassDOT

WALTHAM, MA — If you are driving this week along Route 128, I-95, between Third Avenue and Totten Pond Road, you might notice the construction at old exit 27A and B is finished.

After 11 months of work that meant lane closures and construction crews working to redesign the northbound on and off ramps for exit 43A (or old exit 27A) the joint Massachusetts Department of Transportation and private Boston Properties project is done ahead of schedule, according to MassDOT.

MassDOT redesigned the interchanges and the area in an effort to improve traffic flow, and make it more safe and to provide improved access for the future mixed-use development of up to 1.85 million square feet located within the adjacent CityPoint and 1265 Main developments.

“This redesign will help enhance safe and accessible traffic flow for a well-traveled interchange," said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.

The project took out the patch of trees along the exit and reconstructed the collector-distributor road along Interstate 95 northbound between exits 43A and 43B, the Interstate 95 northbound on-ramps and off-ramps for exit 43A, and sections of Third Avenue, Winter Street, Totten Pond Road, and Prospect Hill Lane.

MassDOT upgraded the traffic signal at the intersection of Winter Street/Totten Pond Road and Third Avenue/Wyman Street and created a new intersection of Third Avenue at Prospect Hill Lane/I-95 northbound exit 43A ramps and placed a traffic signal there.

This work was funded by private abutters, led by Boston Properties and J & Company.

The project marks the second of four phases of privately funded transportation construction projects being considered in this area of Waltham to support growth opportunities for businesses at CityPoint (Prospect Hill Executive Office Park), 1265 Main Street, and properties along the Winter Street corridor.

MassDOT said the next two phases may involve renovating the Main Street bridge (Route 117) over I-95 and supporting improvements to Main Street, construction of a new roadway (the Green Street Connector) between Main Street and the Route 20 rotary, and improvements to the Route 20 rotary at I-95 Interchange 41 (Old Exit 26) by 2024.

Executive Vice President of Boston Properties Bryan Koop called the finished modification project "a major milestone" in the company's long-term vision to improve transportation and accessibility for those who live in or commute to and from Waltham.

Click here for a video showing traffic changes.

In 2011, there was a $23 million project to reconstruct and expand the same interchange at Winter Street/Totten Pond Road. Patch has reached out to MassDOT about the cost of this project.

What do you think of the change? Tell us in the comments below