MassDOT Issues Holiday Weekend Travel Advisory

BOSTON — The Mass. Department of Transportation (MassDOT) advises holiday travelers to plan ahead, utilize MassDOT’s many “real time” travel tools and use public transportation if possible to reach their destinations between now and the end of the July 4 holiday weekend.

“This holiday is a great opportunity for the public to use technology tools including www.mass511.com or the GoTime mobile app in order to make informed decisions on routes to take to destinations and the timing of travel,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “If people check real-time travel time information before leaving home then they can make smart decisions about whether to drive or take transit and whether to leave earlier or later.”

Acting Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said heavy traffic volumes are expected on the state’s highways during this upcoming holiday period. “With many people driving to destinations we encourage people to leave extra time to reach their destinations, exercise safe driving behaviors, be patient on the roadways, and consider taking public transit if possible.”

MassDOT is taking steps to facilitate the flow of traffic during the holiday and will be postponing scheduled roadway construction effective at noon June 30, with scheduled construction activities resuming with the start of normal business hours on July 5.

Free coffee will be served at the 18 MassDOT service plazas from 10 p.m. July 4, through 5 a.m. July 5. The plazas serving free coffee include 11 service plazas along I-90 plus plazas along Route 3 in Plymouth, Route 128 in Beverly, Route 128/I-95 in Newton and Lexington, Route 6 in Barnstable, and the Route 24 northbound and southbound plazas.

For traffic and road conditions, drivers may use the following options to make decisions:

 

• Download MassDOT’s GoTime mobile app and view real-time traffic conditions;
• Dial 511 and select a route to hear real-time conditions on I-90 and other roads;
• Visit www.mass511.com, which provides real-time traffic and incident advisory information, and allows users to subscribe to text and email alerts for traffic conditions;
• Download Waze, the real-time traffic navigation app; and
• Follow MassDOT on Twitter @MassDOT because motor vehicle incidents which impact traffic flow are generally mentioned in tweets if they occur on the state’s major highways.