HELP FOR ROUTE 12
Proposed MassDOT project will improve traffic flow
LEOMINSTER » The Planning Board received an update from John Shevlin of Pare Corp. at a recent meeting regarding the traffic study done by the company in 2016 on the significant roadways and intersections along Route 12 in the vicinity of UMass Memorial HealthAlliance – Clinton Hospital, Leominster Campus.
According to Mayor Dean Mazzarella, the hospital was required by the city to perform the traffic study before, during and after the recently completed construction and renovation project at the hospital.
This dovetailed into the city commissioning its own study of the corridor along North Main Street (Route 12) from Priest Street to Hamilton Street. As a result MassDOT is looking into
revamping several intersections along Route 12, which is an ongoing safety issue Mazzarella said the city has previously talked about with the state.
Included in the second study is the entire corridor along North Main Street in the area of the hospital that encompasses the signalized intersections of North Main Street/Lindell Avenue/Hamilton Street, North Main Street/Nelson Street/Water Tower Plaza, and North Main Street/ Washington Street, and the unsignalized intersection of North Main Street/Hospital Road.
The goal of the city-commissioned study was to investigate potential safety improvements at the intersections within the study area. The intersections of North Main Street/Lindell Avenue/Hamilton Street and North Main Street/ Nelson Street/Water Tower Plaza are on the MassDOT top 200 crash locations report, making these intersections likely candidates for federally funded Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) projects, he said.
“That area was listed as one of the most dangerous in the state, which puts it
on an accelerated list for funding,” Mazzarella said.
According to the study, a proposed MassDOT project along the North Main Street corridor is expected to significantly improve intersection safety, provide multimodal transportation connectivity, and result in less vehicle delay during peak traffic periods.
“Our overall focus in traffic management is that safety is paramount, and then we have to move people to and from and cut down on commute time but not increase speed,” Mazzarella said. “It is a high-crash area, so to update it and make it safe is a big step in the right direction.”
Intersection operations are anticipated to be improved under the proposed MassDOT design.
Mazzarella said the proposed MassDOT project that will produce a complete redesign of the Route 12 corridor in the area of the hospital will be going out to bid sometime this year.
The results of the postconstruction analysis indicate the addition and renovation of UMass Memorial HealthAlliance – Clinton Hospital, Leominster Campus had no significant impact on the surrounding roadway network, including the aforementioned intersections.