Infrastructure

Transportation

Lexington is crossed by two major highways: • Route 2, a major connection between Boston and/or the Alewife MBTA terminal/parking facility and western Massachusetts, has three exit/entry points within the Town. • Route 95/128, the major circumferential highway in eastern Massachusetts since the 1950’s, contains three complete cloverleaf intersections within Lexington; at Route 2, at Route 2A (Marrett Road), and at Routes 4/225 (Bedford Street). The latter ramps are particularly congested during peak commute hours, as they access major office/industrial complexes just outside the Route 95/128 ring as well as Hanscom Field. The traffic problems associated with these intersection areas have long been recognized and discussed by several task forces including government, neighborhood groups, and area businesses. The Town has required traffic studies for projects where congestion may be a concern and obtained agreements with developers for staggered work schedules and financial contributions to highway improvements and alternate transportation. In 1998, to address increasing traffic congestion and lack of transportation options, the Town developed a progressive Transportation Demand Management policy, still in effect today. To further strengthen TDM efforts an updated TDM policy has been drafted and Transportation Management Overlay District (TMOD) for the Hartwell area has been drafted, as this is a major area of new development. The Town of Lexington operates Lexpress, a community public bus with three routes that connects Lexington to Burlington and Arlington Heights. The service currently operates 12 hours per day, Monday-Friday, and is open to all. Seniors, youth, people with disabilities and low income people working in hourly wage jobs are the most common riders. Lexpress connects to MBTA bus routes in Lexington, Arlington, and Burlington, and also connects with Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) service in Burlington.

Minuteman Bikeway

The Minuteman Bikeway along the old Boston and Maine Railroad right of way from Bedford to Alewife Station was completed in 1993 and is 10.1 miles long. In addition to providing a bicycle commuter route to Cambridge and the Alewife T station, the bikeway provides opportunities for recreational bicycling, walking, jogging, rollerblading, and cross-country skiing, with access to many important areas of historical importance and natural beauty. In 2008, the Minuteman Bikeway was named as the fifth inductee into the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. The Minuteman Bikeway opens up access to existing conservation areas, such as Parker Meadow, Joyce Miller’s Meadows, Arlington’s Great Meadows, and Tophet Swamp, and provides an incentive to protect additional land adjacent to it. In addition, the bikeway provides easy access to the Adams, Muzzey, and Munroe recreation facilities, as well as Bow Street Park and the Community Center.

Water Supply and Sewer Service

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) supplies Lexington with its water and sewer services. Water is supplied to the Town from the Quabbin Reservoir. Most of Lexington is serviced by a public sanitary sewer system and a public water distribution system. The developed portions of town are serviced by a separate stormwater system. For the most part, because nearly all of Lexington has sanitary services available, septic systems are not a major contributing factor in polluting the brooks or groundwater. However, older sanitary sewers, storm sewers, and water lines without modern seals are subject to infiltration/outflow problems. In 1984, sanitary sewers were improved by the building of the “Millbrook Relief Sewer” along the old Boston and Maine R.R. right of way (Minuteman Bikeway). This link serves sewer needs of Bedford and Hanscom Field, relieving Lexington trunk lines of this burden. A valuable tool in the management of surface water runoff is the Comprehensive Drainage Study, accomplished over the years 1976 through 1982, by consultants to the Town’s Engineering Division. More