Locust Street was pretty scenic yesterday afternoon around 3 PM when I exited the Eastern Bank / Shaw's parking lot.
My next trip was supposed to be to Best Buy at Santilli Circle in Everet so I took a right onto Locust heading for Rt 16. Big mistake. It was a gridlock. Traffic was backed up on Locust Street all the way past the Mall and Shaw's exits. It took three lights to get through Locust St and the traffic was backed up in both directions on Rt. 16, East and West.
I should have turned around but I made the left onto the Revere Beach Parkway and took a left at Commercial and a left at Riverside. It was not so bad going through the square on my way home. Forget about Best Buy. They would not get my business.
I learned later that they were working on the Woods Memorial Draw Bridge over the Malden River on the Medford, Everett line. Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions. It seems like they have been patching this bridge for 20 years and it is scheduled for a replacement beginning in the Autumn of 2013. It has to be done and it's going to be a major headache for all of us who drive to and through Wellington.
The Cradock Bridge (Main St over the Mystic River) is scheduled for replacement in the Summer of 2013. The traffic flow over this bridge was 42,000 cars per day in 2005. I read somewhere that they are going to try and make it one lane over the river to just keep it open.
Are both bridges going to be under construction in the fall of 2013?
If you weren't in Medford when they did the College Ave Bridge and the North St Bridge, brace yourself.
