Ramps in Bernardston, Burlington, Danvers, Plymouth, and Webster will be closed nightly from 10 p.m. through 4 a.m. through Friday morning to install the thermal camera imaging systems as part of a $2.6 million pilot program, MassDOT said in a statement.
Crews will install wrong-way vehicle detection systems on 16 Mass. highway ramps, closing some exits throughout the Commonwealth this week, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Ramps and lanes on the following roads will be closed intermittently this week:
♦ Bernardston: I-91 northbound and southbound, exit 50 at Route 10
♦ Burlington: I-95 northbound and southbound, exit 50B at Middlesex Turnpike
Advertisement
♦ Danvers: Route 128 northbound and southbound, exit 43 at Route 62
♦ Plymouth: Route 3 northbound and southbound, exit 13 at Long Pond Road
♦ Webster: I-395 northbound and southbound, exit 1 at Route 193
The road closures began Sunday night, according to the statement. People driving through each area should “expect some delays, reduce speed, and use caution.”
The entire project is expected to be completed by spring 2023, MassDOT said.
There have been over 2,000 reports of wrong-way drivers and over 40 deaths due to wrong-way vehicle crashes on Mass. limited-access highways since 2014, according to a statement from the MassDOT Traffic Safety Team. In the United States, over 350 people are killed each year on average as a result of these crashes.
To combat the issue, MassDOT installed “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs at 432 ramps across the commonwealth in 2015, the statement said.
Bailey Allen can be reached at bailey.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @baileyaallen.