The completion date for the Casey Arborway, which had already been pushed off three months, has now been delayed another nine months. That means the mammoth project is expected to be finished a full year later than originally forecast, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
The project is behind schedule due to issues with jet fan procurement, according to officials at a public meeting Wednesday evening held at English High School. The necessary jet fan system is expected to be received in August and installed this fall, and consist of six mounted fans that ventilate and cool the tunnel system, according to MassDOT officials. In the meantime, officials will juggle the schedule of what gets done when so crews can work away from jet fan areas, including Shea Circle, west of South Street and south of the Arborway.
#caseyarborway project will be delayed at least 366 days! @bostonbikeunion @universalhub pic.twitter.com/RSCq5Kq5wC
— Todd Consentino (@BikeBostonwKids) June 29, 2016
State officials had already delayed the project three months, citing 2015's historically snowy winter. That delay moved project completion back from November 2016 to February 2017. Now, the projected completion date is spring 2018, with an earlier "full beneficial use" date of fall 2017. That's construction speak for "everything done but the landscaping."
Additionally this fall, the Route 39 bus pickup will permanently move to the upper busway, and the western crosswalk on New Washington Street is scheduled to be restored.
MassDOT officials also provided the following project status updates:
- Steel installation for the upper busway expansion is underway
- Shea Circle will be graded for conversion to Shea Square this fall
- Drainage and utility work are occurring site-wide
- Lighting, signal bases and conduits are being installed site-wide
- Installation and upgrades of new water lines is ongoing
See our extensive archive of Casey Overpass/Casey Arborway coverage here.