By Adam Swift
One of the big pieces of the improvements to the riverfront area near the Point of Pines and Riverside neighborhoods is the proposed construction of a new roundabout that will provide access to Rte. 1A.
Last week, the city’s planning and community development department and the city’s consultants for the project held a public meeting on the proposed infrastructure improvements.
The meeting focused on the creation of the roundabout, which could see construction begin in 2025, depending upon permitting.
The roundabout will provide access to a new 290 unit mixed-use residential development in the riverfront area, while easing traffic pressure on existing residential neighborhoods, according to planning and community development director Tom Skwierawski.
While last week’s meeting was specifically about the roundabout and access to the new development and on and off Rte. 1A, Skwierawski said there will be a concurrent phase of the roundabout project that will include an exit to an access road to a redeveloped Gibson Park.
The roundabout will be located on MassDOT right-of-way land, but is being pushed forward by the city, which will pay for the project through MassWorks grants for infrastructure projects and state earmarks.
The roundabout project stems from the Riverfront Master Plan, which was endorsed by the city council in 2021. The plan also includes the Gibson Park project, repurposing of the boathouse as a community center, and environmental resiliency measures for the area.
“The Riverfront Master Plan was all about improving connections, resilience, and creating public access to the waterfront,” said Skwierawski. “It involved renovating recreation areas and really important improvements to Gibson Park and providing opportunities for new development and new uses such as the boathouse. But the fundamental rationale behind this master plan was to create an iconic new gateway into the city and resiliency and recreational improvements that are a benefit both for the neighborhood and the city at large.”
A separate meeting on the Gibson Park plans is slated for later this month, according to Skwierawski.
Also on the horizon is the state’s plan to realign the General Edwards Bridge.
“The General Edwards Bridge reconstruction is still a few years out, and it is premature to look at how it links into this project,” said Skwierawski.
The roundabout was developed as one of the key components of the master plan, tying everything together from a transportation and engineering standpoint, with the ultimate goal of minimizing the traffic impact on the Riverside and Point of Pines neighborhoods, he added. The project will also help create more effective accessibility with bicycle and pedestrian access to Gibson Park.
The roundabout should also improve the interchange on Rte. 1Am giving enhanced access to Rte. 1A northbound and southbound compared to what is there currently, as well as improve safety and provide better access for emergency vehicles.
Peter Wroblewski of consulting engineer Howard Stein Hudson said the project is being done in conjunction with the city and the state’s transportation department. After looking at a number of options for an intersection at the site, he said it was determined that a roundabout was the best option.
“Basically, it was the only option that was going to work for this area,” said Wroblewski.
Wroblewski said MassDOT is heavily involved in the project and is reviewing it every step of the way.
The roundabout should improve traffic efficiency in the area associated with the 290-unit development that is currently under construction, he said.
“There shouldn’t be any added impact to the congestion that is already there on 1A,” said Wroblewski. “The project should only improve the traffic that is out there.”
In addition to the roundabout itself, the project will include a sidewalk and shared use path that goes down to the intersection in front of the new fire station in the Point of Pines neighborhood.
While the access to Gibson Park is not technically part of the phase of the roundabout project discussed last week, Skwierawski said the city and engineers are working on plans to provide an access road off the roundabout to the park.
“We understand the importance of having Gibson Park access coming off that roundabout,” he said. “One of the main factors in developing this in the first place was to keep any additional traffic, not only to the mixed-used development but also to the amenities coming to the park, off of Mills Avenue and the Riverside neighborhood.”
The city and the consultants are working toward a final plan for that design simultaneous with the design of the roundabout, he added.
“We will not have a project happen here without access from the roundabout to Gibson Park,” Skwierawski said.
Wroblewski said the projects are being separated primarily because of the permitting process, but said it is the goal to have the access road to the park constructed either in concert with or immediately following construction of the roundabout.
The permitting process will also impact the timeline for the project. Wroblewski said consultants are conservatively estimating that design will continue through 2024, with construction underway in 2025 for a project that could take one to two years.
State Representative Jeff Turco asked if the future Edwards Bridge project would impact the roundabout construction.
While that project is still years out, Skwierawski said the city did seek assurances from MassDOT that the work the city is doing was not going to be replaced by the General Edwards Bridge and have to be reconstructed.
Councillor-at-Large and mayoral candidate Dan Rizzo asked about the cost of the project.
Skwierawski said the city has received about $13 million in MassWorks grants and state earmarks for improvements in the Riverfront area, with the city seeking additional grant funds for infrastructure projects.
Currently, it’s estimated that about $8 million of that funding will be used for the roundabout project, he added.
