Weymouth Route 18 Overnight Roadwork Begins Sunday

WEYMOUTH, MA — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will begin a reconstructing and widening project for Route 18 in Weymouth and Abington starting Sunday night. The project will widen the roadway to two lanes and a shoulder in each direction for the length of the 4-mile corridor.

The construction zone will begin just west of Route 3 at Middle Street and West Street in Weymouth to the Route 139 intersection in Abington. The project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2022.

The first phase of the project will be overnight work using a drill rig that will begin at 11 p.m. Sunday night next to the commuter rail tracks on the foundation for the new Route 18 bridge over the commuter rail. The work will be done overnight so commuter rail service is not disrupted.

Work will also begin on Route 18 starting May 3 at 8 p.m. That work will run overnights until 6 a.m. for roadway excavation and paving north of the bridge over the commuter rail from Heartstone Flowers to Pleasant Street. Northbound vehicles may need to travel on a gravel roadway for portions of the construction. Traffic delays and alternating one-way traffic should be expected with residual traffic impacts possible on Webster Street, Greentree Lane, Fountain Lane, Gas Light Drive, and the driveway entrance to the Whole Foods Plaza near Pleasant Street.

The project requires three weekend shutdowns of the MBTA Kingston/Plymouth Commuter Rail line. The Mass DOT said the shutdowns are necessary for the bridge replacement. The project team will announce the shutdowns with advance notice. During the shutdowns, traffic will be detoured from Route 18 on to Pond Street. Buses will replace trains on the commuter rail line.