The Massachusetts Department of Transportation held its ninth task force meeting for the Route 79/Interstate 195 interchange improvement study at the Marine Museum on January 26, 2011. The session was designed to provide an update on the plans for improving the Route 79/Interstate 195 interchange near the City's waterfront. The plans calls for removing the two decks and having traffic flow on the same level as Davol Street and the Broadway Extension, increasing access to the waterfront, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists, one of the goals of the Healthy City initiative and Fall River Mass In Motion (MIM). "I was pleased to see that both pedestrian and bicycle access has been built into the design" commented MIM coordinator Julianne Kelly. The process is expected to move into the design phase within the next year and then into construction between 2013 and 2016 with completion expected by October of that year. Click here for the Herald News article about the meeting. Click here for photos of an earlier meeting. For more information, contact Mass In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly at 508-324-2405.

(Top row, left) Mayor William Flanagan and State Representative David Sullivan chats with Brian Pearson of Community Development and Mass In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly before the meeting. (Top row, center) Anawan Mill owner Pat Tod point to the scale model of the planned construction before the meeting. (Top row, right) Ann McKinnon of Jacobs Engineering opens the session and welcomes participants to the Marine Museum. (Middle row, right) Michael O'Dowd of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) Accelerated Bridge Program describes the progress of the plans. (Bottom row, center) Alan Macomber of Corky & Company LLC listens as FREE Task Force Chair Alan Amaral responds favorably to the proposed plans. (Bottom row, right) Rod Emery of Jacobs Engineering answers questions about pedestrian access to Heritage State Park by residents of the Heritage Heights housing development.