I just drove on the new third lane of Route 3.
Northbound drivers on Route 3 in Massachusetts will have three lanes available all the way from Route 128 (Interstate 95) to the New Hampshire border, starting some time today.
The new third lane of the highway will be opened today on a 14-mile stretch of the northbound side from Route 128 to just north of Exit 32 in Chelmsford, Mass., according to Matt Watkins, spokesman for Modern Continental, the construction firm for the road-widening project.
The third northbound lane from the New Hampshire line to the area north of Exit 32 opened just prior to Labor Day.
The southbound side of the highway has three lanes open for about 13 miles. An eight-mile stretch between Interstate 495 and Route 62 is the last section that still has only two travel lanes open.
The work was supposed to be completed in February, and Modern Continental is being fined $10,000 a day by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for each day the project is unfinished.
crash on rt3 in the lowell ma area on 2013 (1)
Late last year, my cars (Volvo 940) suffered severe front-end damage, as a result of hitting a paving step, created by Modern Continental’s gross negligence. A “paving step” is a 2″-3″ tall edge of an paving layer, which has not been “feathered”, so that there is a gradual transition from the old to the new paving.
This paving step faced oncoming traffic. At night, my car hit it at 65 miles per hour. The driver’s side tire sidewall ruptured, but did not blow out. The tire went flat in my garage, about a day later.
For about two months before my car was damaged, I had warned the Massachusetts State Highway Department about this hazard, and pushed them hard to get it fixed.
Modern Continental’s Route 3 Project Safety Supervisor did not think it was a hazard, so he did nothing.
Modern Continental’s insurance company has so far paid for the repairs, which have not yet put the car back to its factory-new front-end condition.
Has anyone else had a car damaged, as a result of Modern Continental’s gross negligence? If so, contact me at jaysimkin@juno.com.
I saw a bad crash today on the Lowell Connector coming from Route 3