David Taber
Travel restricted on old bridge until then
FOREST HILLS—The Casey Overpass, a site of almost perpetual repairs in recent years, is slated to be taken down and replaced in 2012, state Department of Transportation spokesperson Adam Hubertise told the Gazette this week.
More immediately, beginning next month, travel will be restricted to one of two lanes heading south on the ailing bridge, which guides through traffic on the Arborway over the Forest Hills Station Area.
Travel is already restricted to one lane heading north.
About 10 weeks of work, costing $1.3 million, will begin next month to reinforce the bridge supports until 2012, Hubertise said. The northbound and southbound travel restrictions will remain in place until the bridge is replaced, he said.
The replacement project is now “early in the design phase,” he said.
“When we talk about crumbling infrastructure, this comes up all the time,” State Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez told the Gazette, “The condition of the Casey Overpass is insane. They have been doing work on it every day for the last 10 years.”
While the overpass itself runs east-west, Route 203, which coincides with the Arborway, is a north-south road. Northbound, it heads past the Arnold Arboretum toward Jamaica Pond. Southbound, it coincides with Morton Street south of Franklin Park.