While some Somerville officials may have learned of the Boston-Cambridge Route 28 bridge repair project “by accident,” as Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston put it, residents from all cities affected will have a chance to weigh in at a Wednesday night public meeting.
The meeting, which will be held at the Cambridge police headquarters at 6 p.m., will address the Craigie Bridge repair work scheduled by MassDOT from Nov. 6 until April. The bridge would be closed to traffic going from Cambridge to Boston, leaving two lanes for traffic going from Boston into Cambridge and Somerville.
Police Chief Michael Cabral predicted dire conditions at “six to eight” locations in Somerville, requiring a police presence to maintain traffic safety. He added that the city had not been involved in planning until recently despite the project being years in the making and carrying a $50 million price tag.
“My feeling is that we were never thought about,” Cabral said.
Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche said he is tired of the state ignoring Somerville’s portion of Route 28, which runs through Ward 1. He added that Somerville’s State House delegation “should have been speaking up on our behalf.”
“If it was up to me, I’d shut down McGrath Highway completely and block off all the (I-93) exits,” Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond added.
A second public meeting is being planned for early October.
