The Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a public information meeting for the Route 79/Interstate 195 interchange improvement study at Government Center on June 16, 2010. The purpose of the session was to provide an overview of the alternatives being considered for improving the Route 79/Interstate 195 interchange near the City's waterfront. The two levels of Route 79 are an obstruction to the waterfront, and alternative plans call for removing the two decks and having traffic flow on the same level as Davol Street and the Broadway Extension. Increased access to the waterfront, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists is one of the goals of the Healthy City initiative and Fall River Mass In Motion. "It would be terrific if this large physical barrier could be removed to encourage more people to walk in this area," noted Mass In Motion Coordinator Julianne Kelly who, along with Al Lima and other volunteers are in the process of proposing routes for bicycles and greater access to parks and open spaces in the City. Click here for the Herald News article about the meeting. For more information, contact Mass In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly at 508-324-2405.

(Top row, left) State Representative David Sullivan chats with City Corporation Counsel Steven A. Torres before the meeting. (Top row, center) Al Lima and Mass In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly wait for the start of the meeting. (Top row, right) Al Lima talks with Fall River resident Brian Curt as they look over the proposed alternative structures to link Route 79 with Route 195. (Middle row, left) Ann McKinnon of Jacobs Engineering holds up a copy of the hearing agenda at the start of the session. (Middle row, right) Highway Division Project Manager Michael O’Dowd describes the purpose of the study. (Bottom row) A variety of alternative improvements are outlined during the hearing along with some of the guiding principles and artist renderings of what some of the alternatives might look like at the intersection of Broadway Extension and Anawan Streets looking north.