MassDOT to Halt Construction, Serve Free Coffee Memorial Day Weekend

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has released a list of its accommodations for drivers on one of the heaviest traffic weekends of the year.

Here’s what drivers can expect this Memorial Day Weekend, provided by MassDOT:

• Construction work on major roadways will be suspended between Friday, May 24 at noon and the start of business Tuesday, May 28.

• Free coffee will be served at 18 MassDOT service plazas between 10 p.m. Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 and 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 28.

• MBTA buses will operate on a Sunday schedule on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27.

• MassDOT recommends avoiding driving during peak traffic times, which are between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Monday.

A specific note on where traffic is heaviest, from MassDOT: Traffic is especially heavy at the I-84 interchange at Exit 9 in Sturbridge on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and at Exit 11A, I-495, which handles cars headed south to Cape Cod and north to New Hampshire and Maine. In 2012, the Friday before Memorial Day was the 13th busiest day on the Turnpike in terms of toll transactions with approximately 350,000 logged between I-95 and the New York Border.