Ribbon-cutting marks completion of Route 2 project

After three decades of debate, planning, and finally construction, the Route 2 project was officially completed last week with a ribbon-cutting at The Commons, where cars whizzing by on the new flyover provided a backdrop for speakers.

For decades, Crosby’s Corner at the intersection of Route 2A was the scene of sometimes deadly accidents when cars and trucks going over the hill heading toward Concord at highway speeds encountered a stoplight with little warning. The project, which broke ground in spring 2013, resulted in the highway flyover that opened to traffic in fall 2016 as well as a widened highway, improved drainage and landscaping, and new access roads to remove direct intersections with driveways between Bedford Road and Route 126.

“The process from problem recognition to project completion was like a relay race, with different people taking the baton at key milestones,” said Selectman James Craig.

There were years of discussion on how to balance the needs of drivers and local property owners. Several houses were eventually taken by eminent domain and several new roads were created (Emerson Road, Red Maple Lane, Horses Crossing, Mary’s Way, Tracey’s Corner, and the Oak Knoll Road extension). Even naming those new roads was not without controversy, as residents were divided on the final name for what is now Mary’s Way.

“We now have neighborhoods where before we only had individual streets and homes,” said Murphy, who lives on Oak Knoll Road.

Although there were complaints at the start of work in 2013 about how many trees were taken down, the town won concessions from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) on more landscaping, and the rest of the work went smoothly, aside from a three-month delay due to unusually harsh winter weather.

At the ceremony, former Selectman Peter Braun praised the MassDOT team (many of whom attended the ribbon-cutting) for “seeking solutions, not drawing lines in the sand.” He and others also acknowledged the hard work over the years of town officials and residents including Dan Boynton, Rosamund Delori, Tom DeNormandie, Bill Kanzer, Sara Mattes, Patrick Murphy, Bruce Repko, Dan Snell, and Ken Bassett, Dilla Tingley, and Ruth Williams.

“The fulfilling part for me was the relationships and working with other people who wanted the best for their neighbors living in their town, as well as the commuters, to find a solution to the safety problem at Crosby’s Corner in a way that worked for Lincoln. For that I’m so grateful,” Delori said in remarks she forwarded to Braun. Delori served on the Board of Selectmen from 1995–2000. (Scroll down to see the full text of her remarks.)

“Things are not supposed to go so well in government,” State Senator Michael Barrett joked. “The neighbors let us know how they felt things should go [and eventually] pronounced themselves satisfied, and that’s a real accomplishment.”

“The success of this project is a wonderful story about what can be accomplished when state and local officials come together in a genuine partnership, and when citizens are involved at the grassroots level to help shape the solution,” said Lincoln Town Administrator Tim Higgins.

The project, which received a Bronze Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies, was designed by MassDOT consultant Louis Berger. Construction was headed by D.W. White Construction.

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Remarks forwarded by former Selectman Rosamund Delori:

“My thoughts about Route 2 as the Crosby’s Corner project is celebrated… 

“More than 30 years of planning and relationships went into this particular project. What stands out for me today, looking back, are the relationships. Yes, it took a lot of time, years, years, and years, and persistence, but what I see is not just roads, but friendships and respect for everyone involved.

“It’s not easy to think of this project in isolation. The consensus needed even to get to the project came about after years of “go/no go” decisions for Route 2; discord between Lincoln and Concord about what should or should not happen to Route 2; tremendous discord in Lincoln between people on the road, north of the road and south of the road about its future; discord at the state planning level and the federal level; and even a town-wide conference on the question of Route 2 that was led by Susan Fargo entitled ‘Route to Tomorrow.’

“I’ll never forget presenting with Doug Adams at an Annual Town Meeting arguing that Route 2 should go north and against the preservation of the farmland opposite the entrance to Hanscom Field so that the option of going north would be preserved, and being shut down by the town. From my view, Lincoln had to get beyond the whole issue of relocating Route 2 to the north on that famous Northern Alignment and recognize that Route 2 was going to stay where it was, whether we liked it or not. We had a real responsibility to the people living on Route 2, as well as the people who traveled it as commuters each day, to make their lives safer and more bearable.

“Creating a multitown consensus was not easy. The genesis of that consensus was HATS, where Selectwomen from Lincoln, Lexington, Concord and Bedford demonstrated that they could work together on a multitown issues. The foundation created by that group was one of trust and willingness to try to find a solution to other problems. People like Beth Ries were really instrumental in getting that off the ground. Her contemporaries in Lexington, Bedford, and Concord joined her and she invited me to participate from my seat on the planning board.

“HATS’s work allowed Lincoln and Concord to find common ground and align with Acton to form the Route 2 Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC) under a memorandum of understanding with the support of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

“The Route 2 CAC formed the nucleus of people who would see the project through based on a vision for the improving safety but also protecting the environment and historic character of the road. Key to the project area getting off the ground was maintaining the consensus of all three towns that this was the highest priority, it was a necessary project, and we would continue to advocate for and stand behind it.

“From signing the memorandum of understanding in 1994 to hosting meetings and commenting on an environmental notification in 1995, together we provided input and demanded alternatives that addressed the local needs, in addition to engineering solutions. I think we were really fortunate that the people at the state level were willing to work with us as constructively as they did, and that we found reasonable people at the federal level as well. It took three years to move from the environmental notification form to a scope of work that satisfied people’s interests. Key at that time was developing sufficient options that would actually address concerns. In Lincoln that meant back-door alternatives so that people who lived on Route 2 could be safe.

“The voice of the people and their elected officials seemed to be important this project. Yes, the town administrators and managers and planners must’ve been involved, but my memory is that what really impressed the state were all the people who showed up at all the meetings with their elected officials, not the paid employees. Of course, the paid employees have been crucial to keeping the process going through successive sets of elected officials, and without them we wouldn’t have gotten to the end. But the fulfilling part for me was the relationships and working with other people who wanted the best for their neighbors living in their town, as well as the commuters, to find a solution to the safety problem at Crosby’s Corner in a way that worked for Lincoln. For that I’m so grateful.

“In Lincoln, the process really became intense during the late ’90s as we looked for solutions that would work for Lincoln. That was the time of neighborhood meetings and wonderful leadership from people like Patrick Murphy, Dan Boynton, Ruth Williams and Bill Kanzer. That group was amazing! It was an intense time and I have nothing but fond memories of it.

“There were two keys to solving the puzzle. One was the selfless consensus of people who lived on the north side of the road that they would be better off having their properties taken, allowing the road to swing north. The other was the incredibly generous agreement with Mrs. Wang that a portion of her property could be used to create back-door access for Oak Knoll, Orchard Lane and even Rockwood Lane if necessary. Those examples of selfless community spirit have always been inspiring to me and make me feel proud of the town.

“Another source of warm feelings for me is the relationships that we developed over so many meetings: monthly meetings, quarterly meetings, weekly meetings with people to get to the right answer. People like Tom Hession who was the state highway department person in charge of this project and Dan Beagan on the planning side, plus colleagues on the boards of selectmen, Sally Schnitzer and D’Ore Hunter. Long after I left office, the consistent voices of Dilla Tingley, Tom DeNormandie, John Snell, Dan Boynton and Sara Mattes carried a heavy load for many years.

“There are other people that I think of now with great fondness. One is Adel Foz, who from the first gave us an inside view of the politics and bureaucracy of transportation planning. Another is Ken Bassett, who was willing to look at the plans when they began to be developed and remind us nonprofessionals how important it was to keep on top of the project because no matter how beautiful the plans look on paper, once the road was built, it was going to be different.

“No one can say that we haven’t lost trees and that the overpass is taking some getting used to. On the other hand, I think the state did the best they could under the circumstances to accomplish the goals. Two other people come to mind: Nancy Nelson of the National Park and Kathy Anderson of the Thoreau Institute. I’m grateful for their generosity and their willingness to get behind project when they could have stopped it.

“The fact that Concord and Acton were willing to say Crosby’s Corner was the most important thing allowed this project to go through. People in Concord are still working on what to do about the rotary, and people in Action have waited patiently for more than 25 years to have some of their problems addressed. I hope we are supporting them now.”