Revere Ocean Ave. bridge work a mystery

REVERE – State officials are still working out the details on a plan that could shut down Ocean Avenue at least in part as early as Monday.The state Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Department, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the State Police are trying to work out a plan to manage traffic while workers put up a pedestrian bridge that will run from the Wonderland MBTA stop to Revere Beach.Michael Verseckes from the highway department said talks are focusing on the possibility of narrowing Ocean Avenue to a single, southbound lane and routing traffic onto Revere Beach Boulevard.”But this is still under review,” he said.View a map of the proposed work. Click on the colored lines for more information.View Ocean Ave work in a larger mapThe project worries Revere Beach Boulevard resident Bill Bell, who calls it, and the state’s lack of communication, outrageous. He worries that shutting down Ocean Avenue, even temporarily, will only worsen an already stressful traffic situation.”We have traffic tie ups Monday through Friday as it is,” he said.Ocean Avenue runs between the MBTA and Revere Beach Boulevard, and is home to two parking lots, one private, one owned by the MBTA, and several apartment buildings.Initially Bell was concerned that the street would be closed, completely shutting off commuter access to the parking lots and putting an estimated 400 additional cars on North Shore Road. But Verseckes said nothing definitive has been decided in regards to how the traffic will flow.He is not even sure the project will start Monday.Bell, who lives in the Jack Satter House, said he learned of the project in June and was told traffic would be curtailed on Sept. 17. He said he hoped the City Council would pressure the state to come up with a solid plan.Ward 5 City Councilor John Powers said he has received no information on the project, and Miles Lang-Kennedy, the mayor’s chief of staff, said the state has not yet given the city a firm plan either.”They’re going to build a pedestrian bridge,” said Powers. “That’s all I know. I haven’t received anything on paper or even a phone call.”Powers said he hoped the state would take into consideration the many commuters from Point of Pines, Oak Island and even Lynn and Swampscott who use the roadway as well as emergency vehicles that might need to get through.Bell said he’d like to see the state open Revere Beach Boulevard to two-way traffic. The boulevard, which runs along Revere Beach from Winthrop Parkway to the Lynnway, is one way northbound from the traffic circle at Winthrop Parkway to Revere Street, with is also the start of Ocean Avenue.Bell wonders why they’re even building a pedestrian bridge from Wonderland to the beach. He said most people who take the train to the beach get off at the Revere Beach stop because there is a bathhouse.”They have no common sense,” he said, referring to state officials.Verseckes said the public would be alerted as soon as state officials hammer out a definitive plan.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].