State Representative Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) kept his promise to the people of Burlington and Bedford this week when he and Senator Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington) brought top officials from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation ("MassDOT") to discuss plans to improve the flow of traffic at the intersection of U.S. Route 3 and Route 128.

Rep. Gordon was joined by District 4 Projects Engineer Brian Fallon, Highway Design Engineer Hasmukh "Hardy" Patel, and State Traffic Engineer Neil Boudreau. Together they presented both short-term plans and long-term concepts to untangle the knot that snarls highway traffic and sends cars into local town streets.

Also attending the discussion were Burlington Selectmen Mike Runyan and Dan Grattan, Planning Board members Ernie Covino and Paul Raymond, Bedford Planning Board member Sandra Hackman, Burlington Town Administrator John Petrin and other local elected officials.

The MassDOT speakers presented various proposed plans, discussing ways in which traffic could be improved, including creating dedicated lanes to exit and enter the highway, extending access lanes, and slightly widening the roads.  They will move to include the short-term fixes as change orders to current highway projects in the region.  The greater challenge will be to implement one of four long-term solutions, which involve the creation of one or more flyover lanes to tie the highways together. These improvements are estimated to cost between $80 million and $150 million.

The traffic created by Rt. 3 / 128 intersections is nothing novel. It is compounded by the economic growth seen in recent years and the additional cars that accompany that growth. The interchange designed half a century ago can no longer adequately accommodate the flow of daily traffic.

"The traffic tie ups at the intersection of Route 3/ 128 affect our lives every day," said Rep. Gordon. "Even if we are not using those highways the number of cars that avoid the traffic by using roads in tour towns clogs local roads."

The MassDOT officials were then open to questions and comments from the crowd that had quickly filled the Burlington Selectmen's Hearing Room. Discussions included improving the lights system at the bottom of the exit ramps, which is already in progress, as well as general frustrations with the current situation.

"We have attracted the attention of MassDOT and now we will keep the momentum going," said Rep. Gordon. "We heard some interesting proposals from the Department's representatives as well as some interesting questions and comments from the audience. It will be the start of some important progress."

"Obviously traffic is a concern for all of us, that was clear from the turnout at this event," said Mike Runyan, Burlington Selectman."Everyone was interested to hear proposed solutions and to offer their own ideas to fix something that affects each of us every day. I hope that Burlington will see meaningful progress on this issue."