Here’s the Official Way to Get Casey Arborway Project Notices

The Casey Arborway project began night work on Sunday. The new wrinkle, which had been announced by the Department of Transportation two weeks earlier, still caught many residents by surprise. While we strive hard here at Jamaica Plain News to be your primary source for Casey Arborway news, and will always pass along the most important items, you can sign up for a direct email from MassDOT. Here's how. Follow all the Casey Overpass/Casey Arborway coverage from Jamaica Plain News here.

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This daytime photo of work being done along the Casey Arborway on May 13, 2015, has been altered to suggest a nighttime scene.

Night Work Begins on Casey Arborway

Night work began on the massive Casey Arborway project at 8 p.m. Sunday. It is expected to run at least a week. Here's what the Department of Transportation had to say about the change:

Beginning Sunday night June 14th, 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., nighttime demolition operations will begin on the Casey Overpass between Washington Street and South Street. As has been stated at public information meetings, nighttime work will take place on those sections of the Overpass which are above traffic which would need to be detoured away from the work zone for safety reasons. State officials say there will always be two weeks' notice for residents before any night work begins.

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Pedestrians cross New Washington at South, where there is no crosswalk, on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.

It’s a Mess For Pedestrians at South and New Washington

UPDATE: That cut-through will be fenced off as the T moves the 39 Bus. We've added more details below. ~~~~~

It's a commonplace of road design: Pedestrians will make their own paths, no matter what authorities envision. That's what's happening in the current phase of the Casey Arborway project at the busy intersection where South meets New Washington. Department of Transportation engineers want pedestrians coming from South Street or the Southwest Corridor Park on their way to Forest Hills Station to juke around the intersection instead of crossing directly at New Washington.

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Screen shot from video of City Councilor Charles Yancey speaking at a Casey Arborway meeting on Thursday, May 7, 2015.

Yancey on Casey: ‘I Have Grave Concerns About This Project’

Name-checking the successful grassroots effort that stopped the Southwest Expressway, City Councilor Charles Yancey told a sometimes raucous crowd of about 175 that he wants to make sure neighborhoods outside JP, notably Mattapan, don't suffer from ills he sees in the massive project. Yancey, who represents District Four, said he'd soon announce a date for a City Council hearing he's sponsoring for an "urgent review of the impacts" on the city's neighborhoods. Yancey was among the many voices at Thursday's construction information meeting at English High School who called the whole effort into question. Transportation officials have struggled at each of the three construction meetings this year to limit discussion to practical questions about carrying out the project. The District 4 councilor wants a series of public hearings on the traffic and environmental impacts of neighborhoods all along Route 203.

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General plan of the Casey Arborway project

One Casey Lane to Be Closed Saturday; Both Next Saturday

On Monday, the Department of Transportation announced that the inbound lane of the Casey Overpass would be closed on Saturday. That's the one going toward Jamaica Pond. The following Saturday, May 16, crews plan to close both lanes of the Casey. Traffic would use temporary roads to the north of the doomed bridge during lane closings along the flyover. According to an email from the Department of Transportation, there will be more information on the closures at Thursday's public information meeting.

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Work on the Casey Arborway project, Saturday, May 2, 2015.

Neighbor: Casey Work Vibrates My House

UPDATE, Tuesday, May 5: The resident reports that Casey project officials agreed to send a vibration consultant to his home and they may install vibration monitors. ~~~~~

A man who lives close to the massive Casey Arborway project said recent construction is shaking the foundations of his and his neighbors' homes. The man, who asked Jamaica Plain News not to disclose his name, gave this report on Saturday's work by Barletta Heavy Construction. The Casey Overpass is being torn down and replaced with a network of surface roads:

"Barletta worked from 7 a.m. [Saturday] to 6 p.m., extending the expected work day from the planned 3:30 p.m. stop time. [Saturday's] work continued to remove a large brick wall facing the homes of residents on Hampstead Road and Arborway.

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File photo: The crumbling Casey Overpass in Forest Hills.

State: No Casey Lane Closure…Yet

On Friday, the Department of Transportation announced — then quickly retracted — that the inbound lane of the Casey Overpass would be closed this weekend. In a follow-up email, state officials said no closure would take place until after the next community construction meeting. That session is set for Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at English High. The earlier message said the closure of the lane going toward Jamaica Pond would begin this weekend. Whenever the closure does take place, traffic will be diverted to a new, temporary ground-level roadway and set of signals.

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Casey Project Hits Demolition Milestone

So long, Casey Overpass @universalhub @02130News pic.twitter.com/5Md8fwAPv1
— Clay Harper (@ArborwayMatters) April 30, 2015

On Thursday, removal of the abutments on the Arborway side of the Casey Overpass began, as documented by JP transportation enthusiast Clay Harper. State officials have said removal of the overpass itself would begin in May. Residents might differ on whether this marks the official end of the Casey Overpass, since traffic continues to be allowed across, though there have been temporary closures recently. But no matter how you look at it, giant jackhammers gnawing away at structures integral to the bridge has to mean something. Jamaica Plain News has established a count-down clock, which we run to the right on desktops or below this story on mobile devices.

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O’Malley Urges Realistic Expectations for Hearings on Casey

City Council moved a step closer to holding hearings on the Casey Arborway, amid warnings from Jamaica Plain's district councilor that the board has zero ability to change the massive state project. Councilor Charles Yancey of Dorchester called for the hearings, on grounds that neighborhoods outside JP haven't been heard from and amid concerns for medical patients who use the Casey to reach hospitals at Longwood and downtown. Yancey said the hearings would give the state, and possibly city agencies, a chance to tell people their plans for the demolition and construction. The 1950s-era flyover is being razed in favor of a network of surface streets. "This is not an order to cease and desist the demolition of the Casey Overpass," Yancey said during Wednesday's City Council meeting.

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