By Dan Boynton
Route 2 Oversight Committee
The massive Route 2 safety upgrade project in Lincoln is about to enter a new construction phase. Up to this point, all the work has been outside the boundaries of the highway. New access roads have been constructed to serve homes abutting Route 2 and the beginning stages of the flyover bridge have been built on land opposite Crosby Corner. Although the highway has often been reduced to just one lane in each direction during off-peak hours, all four lanes have been available during commuter times.
However, starting in early October, work will begin on the highway itself, and that will necessitate the creation of a temporary roadway outside of the original path of the highway. Over the next two weeks, the large dirt area north of Route 2 adjacent to Crosby Corner will be covered with temporary pavement. Once this is complete, traffic will be diverted onto this temporary road and Route 2 will be split in half so that construction activity can take place between the eastbound and westbound lanes.
From that point until the completion date of June 2016, traffic will periodically shift to accommodate changes in road elevation and alignment. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), which provides daily oversight of the Route 2 project, has promised that all four lanes of commuter traffic will be maintained during peak commuter hours, so traffic disruption during the occasional lane shifts will be minimal.
A key element in the construction process is the use of a curved flyover bridge which allows highway traffic to drive through the Crosby Corner area without having to stop. This bridge will be built in stages and will eventually replace the highway eliminating the need for a traffic light and sharp left turn at the bottom of the hill. Ramps off of the highway will then connect to local access roads and to Concord.
During the initial phase of the construction project the W.B. White Construction Co. encountered vastly more rock ledge than was originally predicted. (Test boring indicated there might be 8,000 cubic meters of ledge, but the actual total was 20,000 cubic meters.) Although removal of this ledge was more time-consuming and costly than expected, the overall project is on schedule and staying within its budget, thanks to money-saving design changes that have improved construction efficiency.
Lincoln residents living along Route 2 now reach their homes via new access roads. On the south side of Route 2, the entrance to Oak Knoll is on Bedford Road, just below Tracey’s gas station. Oak Knoll leads to Red Maple Lane, which connects to Rockwood Lane and Orchard Lane. On the north side, at the end of Brooks Road you turn left to reach Horses Crossing Road and you turn right for Emerson Road. A very short road called Tracey’s Corner provides access to the two houses opposite Tracey’s. The post office has already been given the new street addresses of houses on these roads, but automobile GPS programs won’t include these addresses for several years, so residents will have to give out driving instructions the old-fashioned way.
