Two weeks ago, state highway chief Frank DePaola stood in a packed Somerville school auditorium and swore up and down that he’s just as eager as the city of Somerville is to see the old elevated McGrath Highway torn down. Then he spent the next two hours insisting that the state needs to spend $11 million fixing up an elevated roadway it wants to tear down.
State highway officials contend they have no other choice but to shovel good money after a blighted highway overpass. But that’s only true so long as they insist on looking at the McGrath through the eyes of the engineers who built it in the 1950s.
Comments
Thanks for a great summary of this issue. Reconfiguring the McGrath could be one of the least contriversial infrastructure decisions in recent memory. Please, TEAR DOWN THIS HIGHWAY!