One of Hampshire County’s busiest intersections is about to get a makeover, a project Valley residents have been bracing for and fretting over for more than a decade.
An overhaul of the Exit 19 interchange at the base of the Calvin Coolidge Bridge in Northampton has begun with vegetation and tree clearing visible to motorists along both sides of Interstate 91. Meanwhile, road crews have been seen doing prep work in recent weeks at the four-way intersection of Route 9, Damon Road and Bridge Street.
Heavy construction has yet to begin, but the approximately $8.1 million state highway project has finally arrived with a completion date scheduled for 2021, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The completed project will feature a two-lane roundabout, traffic signal improvements, improved turning lanes, and upgrades and realignments to the on-ramp for southbound travelers and exit ramp for northbound travelers of I-91.
Other improvements will include increased bicycle accommodations and access, along with 5-foot sidewalks and crossings for improved pedestrian use, a state highway spokesman told the Gazette earlier this month. Among the goals are to alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety at the interchange.
In our view, the keys to the success of this complex project lie not merely in its design and implementation, but also in how MassDOT communicates with local officials and the public as it unfolds.
Commuters in the greater Northampton area are not strangers to enduring long-term, large-scale highway projects. They have seen what can happen when there is poor communication or when projects do not go according to plans.
The Route 66 reconstruction project in Northampton and replacement of two I-91 bridge spans over East Street in Easthampton about a decade ago are a few projects that come to mind. In the latter case, state highway officials failed to keep the city and neighborhood residents informed about not only the start of the project, but also about lengthy work shutdowns as engineers went back to the drawing board to come up with a new design for the project.
Around the same time, area residents endured a poor performance on the Coolidge Bridge reconstruction and Route 9 widening project in Hadley, which was plagued by frequent construction delays, traffic tie-ups and headaches for businesses along Route 9 that were no longer easily accessible for customers.
These projects may have happened a decade ago, but they are not soon forgotten.
As it begins the Exit 19 project, we hope that MassDOT has learned from past mistakes, and as a publicly funded project, it is vital that it is completed in a timely manner so that it does not become more costly.
Area residents should take note that right behind the interchange project are two more large projects — a $10.4 million widening of Damon Road in Northampton from where the Norwottuck Rail Trail crosses to King Street, and a $25 million widening of Route 9 in Hadley from Middle Street to North Maple Street, or essentially from Hadley Town Hall to the Hampshire Mall.
Those projects are expected to begin in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Preliminary plans for the Hadley work will be presented at a public hearing at Hopkins Academy on June 25 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
There is no doubt that inconveniences will try even the most patient of motorists as this Exit 19 project gets into full swing. For example, I-91 northbound already backs up routinely into the breakdown lane at Exit 19 when there is any kind of disruption or delay at the base of the bridge during the morning commute. For the next two years, commuters should hope for the best and expect the worst while the road work is underway.
For its part, MassDOT must ease the commuting pain for area residents by providing timely information about work hours, expected delays, detours and lane closures. The state agency does not have a dedicated website for the Exit 19 project, but a spokesman says it plans to issue traffic advisories to news media outlets and “key stakeholders” regarding work that significantly impacts traffic.
Given that tens of thousands of commuters use the interchange to get to work, school, businesses and hospitals each day, we expect those advisories to be constant and instructive.