City and state transportation matters were on Tuesday’s agenda, with councilors reviewing an Andover Street repair plan and a report on bus-lane use at the Lord Overpass.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation presented two options last year; residents chose a concrete repair approach over a full asphalt overlay. According to the report presented to the council, the concrete approach will seal only about 10% of the road’s panels and joints and will not include the Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades or traffic-calming measures that were part of the asphalt overlay plan.

Councilors expressed concern that the chosen concrete approach carries higher long-term maintenance costs and will not deliver the ADA or traffic-calming improvements residents had sought with the asphalt option.

Separately, a report on the Lord Overpass documented that buses are not using the newly created bus lanes; the report attributed the underuse to inefficiencies in existing bus routes. Councilors asked whether changes could be made to alleviate local traffic issues, and the transportation engineer said they would need to investigate possible modifications.

No binding decision on altering bus routes or funding a different repair option was recorded in the transcript excerpt; the transportation engineer’s further review was the recorded next step.

Provenance: the transportation items follow the school-facilities discussion in the meeting transcript and precede planning board and governance items.