Holiday Reminder: Thanksgiving Travel
There will be no temporary overnight lane closures from 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday 11/23 through 5:00 a.m. on Monday 11/29. There will be no work inside the fixed workzones on Thanksgiving 11/26 through Sunday 11/28. Detailed holiday travel information is available from MassDOT. We wish all who celebrate a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.
WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
Last weekend, we successfully installed 18 planks over the railroad tracks. There will be no deck installation operation or track service shutdown this weekend. We will resume after the Thanksgiving holiday, on Friday 12/3. All foundation walls in the highway have been poured and are nearing completion. We will also continue the ongoing operations detailed below: limited noise is expected overnight for restoration of both Turnpike workzones as we continue to prepare to remove the permanent workzones. During days, we are continuing interior foundations and installing utilities within the site.
DETAILED LOOK-AHEAD
TURNPIKE & TRAVEL
Weekend rail: Installation of the deck platform structure will resume after Thanksgiving on 12/3 and continue weekends through 12/19. The Commuter Rail will use weekend shutdowns to ensure the safety of riders during this work, starting Friday night and ending by 5am Monday morning. The MBTA will also share service alerts and information on their social media and mbta.com.
Turnpike Eastbound (inbound): slow-speed (right) lane remains closed from the Allston Viaduct (the Exit 131 interchange) to just past Mass Ave.
Turnpike Westbound (outbound): slow-speed (right) lane is closed from the Prudential Tunnel to just past Beacon St. This extended closure allows safe and continuous set-ups for Parcel 12 and for the neighboring project to the west, called the Fenway Center.
Overnight single-lane closures are expected on the Turnpike, requiring closures of the Newbury Street on-ramp. We will post dates on Construction Updates once confirmed by MassDOT.
The second stage of deck support wall construction is nearly complete on the Turnpike. The foundation walls on both sides of the highway have been fully poured, and we are working on finishing items on these walls.
Concrete wall repairs: within the Eastbound Turnpike workzone and under the Mass Ave Bridge, we will continue chipping and repairing the concrete wall. Noise is expected. This work will be limited to daytime hours. Westbound repairs are complete.
Please continue to move carefully through the workzones: pay extra attention to your speed, lane markings, traffic signage, barriers, and any police or construction workers you see.
ON SITE
Mass excavation throughout the Boylston Street site is complete with interior foundations continuing. This includes excavating and pouring pile caps, and starting to build the elevator core.
Installation of underground plumbing and electrical will continue throughout the Boylston and Newbury Street sites.
Installation of electrical equipment along the Turnpike foundation walls in both directions will be ongoing this week.
Foundation work including walls and pile caps will continue along the Newbury Street parcel.
OVERNIGHT WORK
Nighttime work will continue in the highway, along the railway, and within the Boylston Street site along the railroad tracks where required for safety and logistical reasons. The project is taking all appropriate steps to avoid and mitigate noise from demolition. Upcoming overnight work includes:
We have begun building the deck platform, by lowering concrete bridge planks into place over the rail tracks 24/7 including overnight on weekends. This work began 11/12 and will resume on 12/3. The work is not expected to be loud compared to background highway noise.
Roadside fence demobilization along the Eastbound slow-speed fixed workzone will continue this week. Minimal noise expected.
Permanent concrete barrier delivery and installation along the new foundation walls (within the slow-speed Turnpike workzones) will continue this week. Minimal noise expected.
Restoration of the westbound slow-speed fixed workzone will continue this week. Minimal noise expected.
Removal of material and loading of the workzone will continue overnight within the Turnpike workzones in both directions. This work requires travel lane closures that cannot occur during the day. While removing material, the contractor will place sand in the bottom of the trucks to dampen metal noises and will move pieces slowly into the trucks to limit noise.
Loading and unloading of the construction zone at the Newbury on-ramp will continue overnight and in the early morning to support the ongoing foundation activities.
Always check the Construction Updates page for the latest information and scheduled activities. Workhours are coordinated with MassDOT and with MBTA and are subject to change based on weather.
OTHER NEARBY WORK
Construction and maintenance work unrelated to this project continues in the area. This includes local utility and street work, rehabilitation of portions of the Mass. Ave. Bridge, other construction projects along I-90 and in the neighborhood, and routine road maintenance. These other construction activities may have noise and/or traffic impacts that are not covered in these BuildP12 project updates. We will strive to provide information about these as a courtesy wherever possible.