By Judy Wakefield
State transportation officials are pushing for more commuters to "park and ride" but that's going to be temporarily extra difficult in Andover as of Monday, Feb. 8.
That's when the Park & Ride lot on Dascomb Road at Interstate 93 closes for a year. The 70-space lot is doubling in size but needs to close down as work is set to begin Monday. State transportation officials are suggesting lot users drive to Faith Lutheran Church on South Main Street (Route 28) and use that Park & Ride parking lot instead.
"It's an inconvenience, we know. But we closely evaluated the lot (at Dascomb Road) and decided we couldn't keep it open," said Paul Nelson, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation.
DOT is also suggesting drivers use the Methuen Park & Ride on Pelham Street in Methuen, off I-93 Exit 47, Nelson said.
State officials announced the construction project last May. The parking lot is located close to Interstate 93 near the Tewksbury town line on Dascomb Road.
The parking lot will have twice as many parking spaces and a better groomed lot, Nelson said.
With its $673,000 price tag, the parking lot makeover is extensive. The parking lot is owned by the state and its expansion is on state-owned land. The proposed work includes re-grading and resurfacing the existing parking lot. The extension of the new parking lot will be to the north of the existing lot and work includes new drainage, a stormwater-retention basin, new pavement markings, lighting, guardrails and landscaping, according to the reconstruction plans supplied by the state.
Nelson said the project will take about a year, which means the lot will be closed until next winter.
"But, that's the worst case scenario. We hope it's less than a year," Nelson said. "DOT's team will be working hard to ensure the lot can reopen sooner if possible."
A public hearing on this Park & Ride Expansion Project was held May 18 at Memorial Hall Library in Andover. The plans for the parking lot makeover were on display.
The project received the green light to move ahead and the DOT Website reports a preconstruction meeting was held on Jan. 11 in the district office and "active work (is) to begin soon."
