Replace Elevated McGrath Highway with a Boulevard, Says MassDOT Study

A study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recommends tearing down the McGrath Highway's McCarthy Overpass and replacing it with a street-level boulevard.

The implementation of such a proposal, if it were to move forward, is still years away.

At a public meeting held Wednesday night at the Argenziano School in Somerville, MassDOT officials said the department studied a number of alternatives, including keeping the McGrath Highway overpass as it is, and concluded that building a street-level boulevard would best accommodate vehicles, public transportation, pedestrians and bicyclists while reconnecting neighborhoods currently divided by the crumbling elevated roadway.

"It's the most complete streets alternative," said Ralph Denisco, a planner at Nelson/Nygaard, who worked with MassDOT on the "Grounding McGrath" study.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, who spoke at the meeting, said the McGrath Highway is "a relic of the 1950s" that is "cutting neighborhoods off, impeding economic opportunity."

He said replacing the overpass with a street-level boulevard would knit neighborhoods back together and lead to economic growth and a healthier community. "It's going to unlock all sorts of opportunities," he said.

The study, about two years in the making, is the first step in a longer process.

Frank DePaola, MassDOT's highway administrator, said, "This is a marathon, not a sprint." He said it will take "a significant effort" to move from the feasibility study to an actual design and construction project. 

Some of the next steps in the process include refining the conceptual design, working with the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization—a regional organization that green-lights major transportation projects—to get the project in the organization's Regional Transportation Plan, and seeking funding for designing and permitting the project.

After that, the project would undergo preliminary engineering. Ultimately, Somerville and the state would need to complete a design and construction plan and secure funding.

Denisco said that further planning needs to be done in concert with other significant projects in the area, including the Green Line Extension, the Community Path and plans for development in the Inner Belt, Brickbottom and Union Square neighborhoods.

A number of people spoke at the meeting to voice general approval for the concept of tearing down the highway overpass. However, many thought the study's boulevard proposal was still too much like a highway, albeit one at street level.

"I don't think we need three lanes going in both directions," said Rob Buchanan.

"It feels like we're putting the VFW Parkway through Somerville," he said. He called for putting the proposal on a "road diet," reducing the number of lanes.

"I feel you worked very hard to maintain the traffic," said Mark Chase. "Six lanes is just a very long way to cross" if you're a pedestrian.

Ethan Britland, a project manager with MassDOT, said of the study's recommendation, "Technically it is a road diet." He said maintaining the current highway's capacity would require four lanes in each direction.

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