Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project Public Hearing

in

Thursday, March 1st - 7:00-9:00pm
@ State Transportation Building, Conference Rooms 1, 2 & 3, 10 Park Plaza, Boston [map]

PURPOSE: The purpose of this hearing is to seek public comments on the Environmental Assessment for the proposed Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project.

PROPOSAL: The MassDOT-Highway Division is undertaking a project for the rehabilitation of the Longfellow Bridge across the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge. The purpose of the project is to (1) address the bridge’s structural deficiencies, (2) bring the bridge’s automobile, bicycle and pedestrian facilities up to modern standards, and (3) restore the elements of the bridge that give the bridge its historic character.

The Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and includes a Programmatic Section 4(f) Evaluation and Determination for Federal-Aid Transportation Projects that have a Net Benefit to a Section 4(f) Property.

Written views received by MassDOT subsequent to the date of this notice and up to five (5) days prior to the date of the meeting shall be displayed for public inspection and copying at the time and date listed above. Plans will be on display one-half hour before the meeting begins, with an engineer in attendance to answer questions regarding this project. A project handout will be made available on the MassDOT project website.

Comments on the Environmental Assessment must be submitted by March 21, 2012. Written statements and other exhibits in place of, or in addition to, oral statements made at the Public Hearing regarding the proposed undertaking are to be submitted to Pamela S. Stephenson, Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 55 Broadway, 10th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, Attention: Damaris Santiago with a copy to Thomas F. Broderick, P.E., Acting Chief Engineer, MassDOT Highway Division, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, Attention: Kevin Walsh, Project File No. 604361. Such submissions will also be accepted at the meeting. Project inquiries may be emailed.

This meeting location is accessible to people with disabilities. MassDOT provides reasonable accommodations and/or language assistance free of charge upon request (including but not limited to interpreters in American Sign Language and languages other than English, open or closed captioning for videos, assistive listening devices and alternate material formats, such as audio tapes, Braille and large print), as available. For accommodation or language assistance, please contact MassDOT’s Director of Civil Rights by phone at (617) 973-7171, TTD/TTY at (617) 973-7715, fax (617) 973-7311 or by email. Requests should be made as soon as possible prior to the meeting, and for more difficult to arrange services including sign-language, CART or language translation or interpretation, requests should be made at least ten business days before the meeting.

In case of inclement weather, hearing cancellation announcements will be posted on the internet.

LIVABLESTREETS VIEW: LivableStreets is really excited about progress, but we're not sure about the details yet. We are coordinating meetings to review the 150-page assessment with advocates from bike, pedestrian, environmental, and disability-access groups. 
Stay tuned for more updates soon