At-grade I-90 Allston project called ‘preferred alternative’
By 
AFTER YEARS OF indecision and delays, state transportation officials on Monday formally bowed to what public stakeholders have wanted for some time and designated a challenging all-at-grade approach as the preferred design to reconstruct the Massachusetts Turnpike as it runs through Boston’s Allston neighborhood.
Jonathan Gulliver, the state’s highway commissioner, notified the Federal Highway Administration of the state’s preferred alternative on Monday. The decision doesn’t mean other approaches won’t be considered during the environmental review process, but it means the state prefers putting everything at ground level.
That may not sound too controversial, but it means squeezing eight lanes of the Turnpike, four lanes of Soldiers Field Road, and four railroad tracks into a narrow piece of land between Boston University and the Charles River. Fitting everything in comes down to inches, and requires placing a bike and pedestrian path out over the Charles, which is opposed by river advocates. Under former state transportation secretary Stephanie Pollack, the Baker administration never got comfortable with the all-at-grade approach. But when she left for the Federal Highway Administration (she is currently the acting administrator), the job of deciding what to do with the I-90 Allston project was dumped in the lap of Gulliver, who seemed to keep an open mind and ultimately was won over to the all-at-grade approach.
“While the review process requires us to continue advancing several design alternatives, MassDOT’s view is this option has the broadest support among key stakeholder groups, and represents the best choice to expand access to transit, facilitate new or improved connections for cyclists and pedestrians, and allows for new economic development opportunities within the area,” Gulliver said in a statement.
Rick Dimino, the president and CEO of the business group A Better City, who helped lead the fight for the all-at-grade approach, hailed Monday’s decision.
“This is a substantive move in the right direction,” he said.
One of the biggest potential benefits of the all-at-grade approach is it offers a chance to remove a crumbling elevated section of Turnpike that for years has acted like a wall separating the area around BU from Allston.
“It’s long past time to take down the hulking Allston interchange and knit our communities back together with sustainable, multimodal transportation infrastructure,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in a statement. “We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with MassDOT and the many stakeholders who have worked hard to develop and refine this design.”
BRUCE MOHL
NEW STORIES FROM COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE
– Gorzkowicz is no household name, but he brings with him a resume in government finance as undersecretary of administration and finance under former governor Deval Patrick and associate vice president of administration and finance at UMass in the president’s office. Read more.
GLX comes online: The long wait for the Green Line extension is over as lots of pols turn out for the grand opening of the line from Lechmere to Medford. Read more.
OPINION
Warning on housing law: Oren Sellstom and Jacob Love of Lawyers for Civil Rights warn that resistance to the Housing Choice law by Boston’s suburbs will be met with financial penalties and legal actions. Read more.
STORIES FROM ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WEB
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will introduce a “participatory budgeting” proposal in the City Council this week. (Boston Herald) The initiative, set in motion by a voter-approved change in the city charter, was recently spotlighted in this CommonWealth story.
Restaurants, bars, banks, gyms and other public venues in Boston will be required to turn on closed captioning under a new ordinance designed to provide greater access for people with disabilities. (Associated Press)
Rufus Faulk, a cabinet-level senior advisor to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on public safety and a holdover from Marty Walsh’s administration, is stepping down. (Dorchester Reporter)
The Boston City Council takes up a proposal to allow non-citizen legal residents to vote in municipal elections. (Boston Herald)
The Amherst Board of Health unanimously recommends that an artificial turf field not be installed at Amherst Regional High School. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
In 2020, more than half of renters in Worcester were cost-burdened, a number that has been steadily rising, while the percentage of homeowners who are cost-burdened has decreased, according to a new report. (MassLive)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Massachusetts stands to receive $230 million as part of a national settlement with CVS and Walgreens concerning the failure to properly oversee the dispensing of opioids at their pharmacies. (State House News Service)
Drug maker Emergent BioSolutions is seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell Narcan over the counter, without need for a prescription. (NPR)
David Masters and seven other people with physical and mental disabilities sue the Baker administration, claiming they have been confined to nursing homes when they could be living more independent lives. (Berkshire Eagle)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
The last Confederate statue in Richmond, Virginia, is removed and the remains of the soldier it memorialized are moved to a cemetery. (New York Times)
A cougar dubbed P-22 who had taken to living in Los Angeles is sedated and caught in a backyard after several attacks on dogs that could be an indication of distress. (Los Angeles Times)
US Rep. Seth Moulton visits Ukraine and urges US officials to continue providing military and humanitarian support. (Eagle-Tribune)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Some welcome news on inflation: It slowed more than expected in November. (New York Times)
Many Massachusetts pot shops are now accepting cash only after a federal crackdown on the use of ATMs to buy cannabis. (Newburyport Daily News)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Scientists are eagerly awaiting today’s planned announcement of a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion. Some think it may be a game-changer for clean energy efforts while others are less sanguine about its practical significance. (Boston Globe)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
Efforts to diversify the Boston Police Department are moving stubbornly slowly. (Boston Globe)
MEDIA
Verizon Fios customers in Boston may lose the ability to watch Boston 25 News this week if contract renegotiations fail between Verizon and its content provider, Cox Media Group. (MassLive)
Brian Fay of Abington dies of respiratory illness brought on by his work as a first responder after the September 11 terrorist attacks, at age 58. (Patriot Ledger)