State and federal officials were in town Monday to announce they’re spending $2 million to design a replacement for the Route 44 rotary, but the biggest question in people’s minds is when? Transportation officials side-stepped giving a timeline, but U.S. Rep. Barney Frank expects construction to start after the federal highway bill is passed next year.
Residents could see some relief within a few months. The design could uncover short-term solutions that could be implemented within 6-12 months, said Luisa Paiewonsky, highway administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. State Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, said the design is the first step in getting the rotary replaced and he too expects construction to begin next year. Pacheco sympathizes with people who have grown tired of the years of talk about getting the rotary fixed.
Town Manager Charles J. Cristello said the rotary impedes new businesses coming to town. Cristello and Planning Director Ruth M. Geoffroy took Frank on a road trip in July to show what a problem the rotary has become, creating backups on routes 18, 28, 44 and even Interstate 495. Read the rest of the story on Wicked Local – Brockton.
One can’t help but wonder, though, if this is simply an election year promise that will be forgotten the instant Governor Patrick and Representative Frank win in November. That is assuming they win, of course. This mid-term election seems to be the year of the “anti-incumbent” and people in both parties are seriously concerned that they may not be back for another term.
Is this an election year promise? I don’t know for sure, but it certainly quacks like one…
Updated April 30, 2011: Turns out, it was an election year promise that got forgotten as soon as election day was over. But now, Senator Scott Brown has promised to revisit the issue.
Updated December 19, 2011: The state transportation department last week rolled out a new $24 million preliminary plan to fix traffic snarls at the Route 44 rotary. Under the plan, the rotary would stay, but Route 44 would become a “flyover” to avoid backups caused by routes 18 and 28. The major difference to prior plans is a proposal to eliminate the westbound entrance on Route 44 and reroute traffic to Interstate 495 northbound, via Route 18. Drivers would take the next exit off I-495 to reach Route 44. Get the rest of the story at TauntonGazette.com.
The $2M was essentially bonded:
“Frank said he struck a deal with Gov. Deval Patrick, who agreed to use $2 million from the state bonding authority, which will be paid back in the next federal highway bill.”
So either way, we’ll get the $2M for the redesign and any “short term” fixes. Personally I think flyover is overkill. It seems to me that exits for 44E, 44W, 18N, 18S, replace rotary with a good traffic light system would do an awful lot. 44 west of the rotary is a single barrel craphole so no matter how much you unplug the rotary there’ll still be problems west.
I hope you’re right! I am simply very suspicious of any deals announced or promises made just days before a tough election is scheduled to happen.