Medford Outlines Pavement Plan For Freedom Way

MEDFORD, MA — Freedom Way, a high trafficked private way that residents travel daily on to access Andrews Middle School, McGlynn Elementary and Middle School, Hormel Stadium, and LoConte Rink, has been officially accepted as a public way. Here’s how the City of Medford plans to improve it.

The Engineering Department, working with the Department of Public Works, will begin the process of milling the road and adding a new top layer of asphalt this fall.

While a top-level repaving will make the road more navigable and safer in the short term, the city is planning for a full road rebuild that includes new curb cuts, sidewalk accessibility improvements, and drainage upgrades in addition to a completely new road system.

The entire project is expected to be completed over the next two to three years, said Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn.

“Some of our most beloved public spaces are accessible on Freedom Way, yet no effort was made to bring the maintenance of this route under City control,” Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. “Now that we have made it a public way, the City will be able to effectively and efficiently plan for the future of the road, spend funds that otherwise are not eligible on private ways, and make it much more drivable for residents.”

In addition to the work being done on Freedom Way, Medford has identified approximately 90 roads as candidates for crack sealing from the street and sidewalk assessment that was done. About one third will be done this fall and the city’s plan is to complete the remaining streets during the next construction season.

A list of roads that will be repaired this year and next year can be found here.