CHARLEMONT — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has submitted a $7.1 million roadway reconstruction and traffic-calming design plan for Route 2 in the town center.
The plan, at the 75-percent design stage, is available during regular office hours weekdays from Town Administrator Peg Dean.
According to the MassDOT website, this 1.5-mile highway reconstruction project will begin about 1,500 feet west of Route 8A South and end about 2,600 feet east of Route 8A North.
The project will include roadway and sidewalk reconstruction, drainage system and culvert repairs, and Route 2 construction from Riddell Road to Zoar Outdoor (about a half-mile). The town has asked for a new sidewalk on the north side of this stretch of Route 2, and the state is considering the feasibility.
All existing sidewalks and curb-cut ramps will be reconstructed to achieve PROWAG (Proposed Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines) compliance.
Proposed traffic-calming measures will likely include sidewalk and crosswalk enhancements, “gateway” areas on approaches to the village center, and improved signage and landscaping. The cost is to be covered by federal transportation dollars.
If all goes as planned, construction will begin this spring.
In 1999, Charlemont town officials asked the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) to investigate traffic-calming measures through this section of town center, where traffic slows along Route 2 from 50 miles per hour (mph) down to 30 mph in the center of town.
A vehicle speed and pedestrian safety study through the village center done by FRCOG found that most motorists going through town center traveled at speeds ranging from 8 mph above the 30-mph speed limit in the center of the village to 15 mph to 20 mph above the speed limit on the eastern and western ends of the village. Similar speeds were recorded when the study was done again, in 2005.
Over the years, town officials met with MassHighway District 1 representatives to brainstorm possible traffic-calming measures to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety. A review of crash reports from 2002 and 2004 indicated there were nine crashes along a 1.2-mile stretch near the village center. Five of them were single-car crashes, with three of these caused by loss of control on icy roads. One crash resulted in a fatality, and the remaining crashes were rear-end collisions with property damage.