Middlesex Turnpike +3

PROJECT OVERVIEW

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PARTNERS

COMMUNITY NEEDS

MIDDLESEX TPK + 3 : PROJECT ELEMENTS

PROJECT HISTORY

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS

STATE OF GOOD REPAIR

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS & PLANS

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

SUSTAINABILITY

SAFETY

FINANCIAL SUPPORT LETTERS

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

LOCAL & REGIONAL PLANS

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, MEDIA & NEWS ARTICLES

RELATED PROJECTS & INVESTMENTS

Life science companies are attracted to the Middlesex Turnpike because of its proximity to Boston and Cambridge and its access to high quality employees in Northeastern Massachusetts. In addition, the MTP offers relatively low cost real estate for business expansion as well as local government officials who can expeditiously and competently address permitting and other local business concerns. As a result, the Middlesex Turnpike Phase 3 has become an informal life science hub as it has attracted over two dozen international and small, growing life science companies to the MTP3. These companies include EMD Serono, Pharmalucence, EMD Millipore, Covidien, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hologic, i-Robot, Bruker BioSpin Corporation, Bruker Optics, Bruker Daltonics, PAREXEL International, Nova Biomedical, BD Biosciences, Aushon Biosystems, Exogenesis Corporation, AXSUN Technologies Inc., Rapid Micro, Biosystems, Inc., First Light Biosciences, Inc., Ocular Therapeutix, GSI Group, Inc., Insulet Corporation, Medica Corp., BD Biosciences Discovery, LeMaitre Vascular, Inc., Palomar Medical Technologies, Tomophase Corporation, Dyax Corporation, Thoratec Corporation, ConforMIS, Inc. and InfraReDx.

While we are proud of the companies along the MTP, the Towns of Billerica, Bedford and Burlington recognize that road and sewer deficiencies need to be addressed in order to keep companies coming and expanding as well as to improve safety and traffic conditions. We have heard from numerous high tech and life science companies that the completion of the Middlesex Turnpike Improvement Project is necessary to provide the infrastructure they need to expand and for additional life science companies to come to the MTP.

This third and final phase of the Middlesex Turnpike Improvement Project is a 1.6 mile road segment, located in the towns of Bedford and Billerica. These roads are in critical need of improvement and have led to significant traffic delays and congested intersections. Historical crash records for the corridor show an accident rate of 3.52 crashes per million vehicle miles, which is 30% higher than the average crash rate for the region overall. In addition, the entire corridor currently operates at level of service F during peak travel periods. The proposed project includes the following: widen the roadway cross section from one to two lanes in each direction, with a 16-foot landscaped median, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations; construct left-turn lanes and signals at high volume intersections, reconstruct the twin arch culverts at the Shawsheen River, and install new stormwater management system.

In addition, in order to continue to attract and retain life science companies, the MTP3 includes water and sewer improvements for the Towns of Bedford and Billerica. This includes repairing two wastewater pump stations, constructing a new waterline, installing sewer on Middlesex Corporate Park and increasing local sewer capacity. Because Billerica is close to reaching its sewer capacity, the Town of Billerica has to improve its sewer infrastructure and expand its sewer capacity. At present, sewer capacity is 4.46 million gallons / day of effluence which severely limits in the number and types of businesses that Billerica can bring onto its system.