Boston PIC Approves Massport South Boston Street Widening and Bike Lane Project

BOSTON -- June 29, 2023, Boston's Public Improvement Commission unanimously approved a sweeping Massport and MassDOT plan to widen, extend, and reconstruct New Cypress Street and surrounding public ways in South Boston, clearing the way for construction on a multi-year project that will add protected bike lanes, new sidewalks, and fully signalized intersections to a corridor that today has almost none. The commission passed four separate motions covering right-of-way changes on New Cypress Street, A Street, and Richard Street, plus a specific repairs authorization spanning roughly a dozen South Boston public ways including Fargo Street and Summer Street. Steve Farr of Nitsch Engineering, presenting for Massport, said the design meets all federal and state standards and has been coordinated with the city's Engineering Transportation Division. Neighborhood commenter Tom argued the South Boston Bypass Road crossing "frankly creates a death zone if it's not done appropriately," while a second commenter, Steve Riggs, said Massport's claim that residents are "enthusiastic about this project is wrong." Massport acknowledged that spatial constraints along the new D-to-E Street extension prevent a full complete-streets build-out without acquiring additional land from abutting property owners.