Officials Planning Woburn Center Safety Improvement Overhaul

WOBURN, MA — Woburn officials are working on an overhaul of Woburn Center aimed at improving safety, an engineering consultant told City Council at a recent meeting.

The plan is for construction to be fully paid for with state and federal funds, but the city would need to be responsible for design, environmental permits and right-of-way.

Consultant Rich Benevento of WorldTech Engineering and Mayor Scott Galvin appeared before City Council Jan. 19 to see if the council members would be supportive of the project, as they would need to approve design funding. All members were supportive.

Planning has been underway for nearly four years, with WorldTech first brought in to perform a traffic study in May 2017. In Dec. 2019, the state approved the project as eligible for state and federal funding, and in March 2020 the project was put on the regional planning organization's funding plan for the next five years.

The Woburn Center project is programmed to get $16.8 million in construction funding, 20 percent from the state and 80 percent from the federal government. Design costs are generally about 10 to 15 percent of construction, Benevento said.

Goals for the project include increased safety, improved traffic circulation and optimized parking.

A major goal is "transforming Woburn Center into a pedestrian-oriented central business district," Benevento said. "It's pretty much a cut through right now, and god forbid you want to cross the street."

He noted that the area is a MassDOT Top Crash Location, with 162 crashes from 2010 to 2014.

The specific planning is still in the very early stages, but ideas include a new traffic design, new traffic signals and more green space and parking.

"Woburn Common ... it's really not a destination," Benevento said. "Let's utilize the Common for the public."

The city must follow certain state design criteria, including "Complete Streets" rules guaranteeing the area is accessible for all transportation modes, but otherwise, the city has a free hand. Benevento said the fact that the project has already been programmed in the regional planning organization's plan is "a game-changer" and means the state is eager to get this project done.

The preliminary design fee will be about $736,800.

The full meeting is available here from Woburn Public Media Center.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.