Widening of Rt. 1 scheduled for 2012

REVERE – Mayor Thomas Ambrosino said a cooperative relationship with Roseland Property Company has set the stage for the developer to contribute land and design money to the Route 1 widening project.Beginning in 2012, contractors hired by the state will begin widening Route 1 between Copeland Circle and Route 99. The three-year project is slated to begin at a point 1,500 feet south of Copeland Circle.Widening Route 1, according to state highway officials, will reduce congestion on the highway and improve safety.Route 1 will be widened from two lanes to three in each direction and the highway’s interchange at Copeland Circle will be reconstructed with a new interchange built north of the Salem and Lynn streets off-ramps.The public has until Saturday to submit comments on the project design to the state Highway Department.Ambrosino said the widening will eliminate “a major bottleneck” near Copeland Circle and represents ongoing cooperation with Roseland for the past five years to build on the former North Revere quarry site.Roseland plans to build up to 3,000 apartment and business buildings on 99 acres straddling Revere and Malden. The project’s first two phases totaling 1,400 units are underway.”To see basically a giant hole transformed into what is there now is a positive step,” Ambrosino said.He credited the City Council’s decision to rezone the quarry site to meet Roseland’s needs. The developer is putting the finishing touches on a new Salem Street fire station Revere and Malden will share and contributing land and money to that Route 1 project.That contribution will also offset Overlook’s impact on North Revere traffic, including an estimated 1,000-vehicle increase in Salem Street traffic.The city plans to buy a new fire engine and base it in the North Revere station. It is also closing the Walden Street and Beachmont stations and replacing them with a new station on Revere Beach Parkway.Fire Chief Eugene Doherty said the North Revere station will speed emergency response to North Revere now impeded by heavy traffic on Squire Road.