Preparation begins to widen Route 128

How about the North Shore? 128 is old and perilous from peabody to Beverly, and always jammed at the I93 cloverleaf

am i missing something didn't they just spend a year doing over the university ave bridgebefore the 95 south interchage billy l.

OUTRAGEOUS!!! My tolls are going up again so that idiots like Patrick can waste more money on unnecessary road construction. When will the people in this city say enough is enough! I for one have had it! Once the tolls increase is in effect, I'll be going side roads. They'll be getting no more $ from me.

Have they not already been working on this for a couple of years?

It's about freakin time. Let's hope they don't drop a toll booth across the highway while they are at it.

$48.5 million to ease congestion on 128. And how much to ease congestion on the MBTA?

I thought so.

It should be widened all the way to Rte. 9. Dumb idea, more congestion when the road narrows in Dedham.

It should be widened from Peabody to Randolph.

And 128 North from Peabody to Gloucester should be straightened out and 1-2 extra lanes should be added.

How about all that needless traffic because people cannot handle the curves with the volume of traffic on 95 North and South between Reading and Lynnfield? Let's straighten that out too. It's ridiculous to sit in pointless traffic every day because of a few painsy slow polks!

Havent they been working on this stretch of road for the past couple of years already?????????

Keep spending money my gubbner, soo there will be none left. Oh and while I'm complaining how about Rte. 3, ever got to thje cape in less than 2 hours on a Saturday, what about poor old me?

Why does this road need to be widened? I thought the experiment of using the breakdown lanes during rush hour was considered successful, making such construction unnecessary.

Yeah, how dare they fix the roads! It's an outrage!

Conversely, if they don't fix the roads -- it's an outrage!

Technically, Route 128 terminates at the I-95 interchange in Canton. Is this project really widening I-93 from its southern terminus at the I-95 intersection, up to Route 24 in Randolph?

Stop making babies, or stop complaining.

Hey, 20 lanes in each direction. Let's get those cars moving. Who cares abotu smart growth. just build, build, build!!!

ummm, Tracy, your tolls don't pay for 128. Your gas taxes do. In fact, once you start taking "side roads" you'll probably burn more gas, paying more in gas taxes, and supporting this very project. Nice one.

Also, you can blame Patrick if you want, but this project started before he was even governor.

Are you kidding?????? The South Shore has the largest population in the state. Why the hell can't we get a highway that's wider than two lanes? It is almost like there is Cape traffic all the time now.

They started working on it back in June 2006 (with the new bridges over University Ave and Amtrak)!
Tracy - the tolls are going up because of the crooks of the Big Deuce/Central Artery Project, not because of widening a road becaue it built for the 1950s congestion.

They've spent years preparing the bridges for this, but if I understand this project correctly it wont' help and 128 will continue to be undersized. You'll be getting a net-add of "zero" since once this is completed the brakedown lane travel during rush hours will no longer be permitted. Sure the lanes will be there for use 24x7, but 128 doesn't even need another lane on weekends and non-rush hour times.

How about instead of widening the road you build the train down the median that was originally proposed and unfortunately dropped when Route 128 was first designed? Put a few large parking garages near the larger intersections like Routes 90, 95, 93, 3, and 2 and then run a quick shuttle type train down the middle of it to all of the office parks with buses to get you to your office building..

Make it easier for the poeple on the south shore while us on the north shore have to pay for everything.. just raise the tolls to an even 10 bucks across the board!

Thanks a lot Devil Patrick!

Shame on alll of you who voted for him for crying! You aked for the lil rich boy!

They've been doing this for a couple of years. Just opened up 4 lanes for a short bit after the split 95 N to 128 N. It looks nice and you'd think the conjestion would be better, but actually this change has made the commute worse! Commuters are not adjusting to the lane changes or the change in the lanes at all!

This add a lane project has been on the drawing board for over 20 years. The Big Dig was one of the reasons for the projects delay. I hope the state and the feds will prohibit the use of the breakdown lane once the new lanes are operational from Randolph to Dedham. The road is supposed to be widened to Route 9. The use of the breakdown lane was a temporary measure to lower the ozone levels in the Neponset Valley until this project is completed. The travel in the breakdown lane during rush hour concept is a very bad idea and very dangerous.

They need to put in a monorail instead. A genuine, bond-fied six car, monorail.

I drove th 128 brakedown lane for years in the morning and night and somehow never saw a single accident in it. I know there have been plenty, but I never personally saw one. It seemed like those driving in that lane took extra precautions. The ones you have to worry about are the out-of-staters that don't realize people are LEGALLY driving in it and just careen thorugh it getting onto or off of the highway out of ignorance or they think they're teacing a lesson to those evil people driving in it. Gee thanks.

Wow... my spelling was horrid in that last post. Sorry about that, I posted it from my blackberry while driving down the brakedown lane. ;)

SJB, You're sad, you have NO idea what they do with our toll $. That's the point!! And as far as me wasting gas, I go 1 exit on the pike, to All/Brigh toll which is always the one to get the increase! I will save money in gas because it will no longer take me 20 mins. to get through the light at the end of the ramp & save my toll $! Get a clue!