The installation of new traffic lights and lane markers at the intersection of Boston Ave. and College Ave. will begin late this spring.
After two students were hit in an accident last February, the University began exploring plans to make the intersection safer. Currently, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is replacing the water mains below the intersection, which provide the entire campus water supply. These water mains were not in immediate need of reconstruction, but will be impossible to reach after the roads are repaved.
Tom Gawyrs of the MWRA explained that the project of restoring the pipes coincided with the planned reconstruction of the intersection. "That's why we're out in winter," he said. "We're trying to get it all done before the roadwork begins."
The reconstruction of the intersection is a joint project involving the MWRA and the city of Medford. After the water main replacement is completed by the MWRA, the repaving of the intersection will begin.
Paul Gere, the Director of the Medford Public Works, said that the redesign of the intersection would begin after "140 feet of 8-inch pipe is replaced by 12-inch pipe."
"The intersection is going to be state-of-the-art," Gere said. "There will be a whole new system of traffic lights, different crosswalks, and an Opticom system." An Opticom system allows approaching emergency vehicles to reconfigure the traffic lights so that they may pass through with greater ease.
The repaving and the installation of traffic lights will be funded by the City of Medford and carried out by a construction company working under the Massachusetts Highway Department.
Gere said that once the MWRA has finished replacing the pipes, the redesign of the intersection should take no more than six months. The MWRA's work on the pipes should be finished around the beginning of March.
The intersection has long been considered a particularly dangerous one, due to angle at which Boston Ave. and College Ave. converge and the high degree of pedestrian traffic. Last February two students sustained minor injuries after being hit by a van passing through the intersection.
Students agree that the intersection needs to be made safer. Junior Erika Amir-Denton said she feels nervous crossing over College Ave. to use the post office or visit Brown and Brew. "The other day it was so busy that I couldn't have crossed if a cop hadn't been there," she said.
Freshman Michelle Friedman, an employee at Brown and Brew, said sometimes she has "to make three or four attempts before I feel safe enough to cross. I'll be relieved when the construction is finished and I hope it makes the intersection safer."
Gere said the intersection of Park St. and Salem St. near Route 93 is also slated for reconstruction. The installation of a new system of traffic signals will begin after the work underground on utilities is completed.
