That big renovation of Forest Hills? It’s going to be a few more weeks before all the new roads are in place.
Already more than one year behind schedule, the project that replaced the old Casey Overpass with an surface road network now won’t be “finished,’’ until mid-January, a few weeks beyond its latest target date. Highway officials said winter weather is the primary reason why the westbound section of the Arborway through Forest Hills isn’t quite ready.
When the Forest Hills project was first approved in 2014, the state said the new roads would be open to traffic in October 2016. But things were delayed more than a year largely because the state failed to properly procure ventilation equipment that was required for the subway tunnel underneath the neighborhood.
Even once the roadways are open in January, other work will be ongoing through 2018. Still on the to-do list: Landscaping; the expansion of a nearby park; and a new entrance, bus canopy, and other work on the Forest Hills Orange Line station.
The project was a controversial, and some residents are still bitter the state chose to remove the overpass in favor of a surface network, rather than building a new bridge. They believe the mix of commuter and local traffic will clog streets — though it figures to at least be better than the epic, ongoing backups during the construction period.
Real ID becomes reality
Massachusetts will start issuing driver’s licenses that comply with new federal standards in the new year — though there’s no rush to go and get one.
In March, the state will issue licenses that comply with federal “Real ID’’ rules that the government mandated after 9/11 to more closely verify license holders’ identities. Eventually, people using their license to board a domestic flight or enter a federal government building will be required to have a Real ID-compliant license. Otherwise, they’ll have to use a passport.
But while Massachusetts residents can get one of these licenses this year, they won’t need one for those purposes until October 2020.
The new licenses contain a mark showing the state has complied with the Real ID rules. In Massachusetts, drivers will have to show two forms of proof of address when renewing a license to get a Real ID.
Adam Vaccaro can be reached at adam.vaccaro@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @adamtvaccaro.
