Slow down at Route 20 construction in Oxford, Charlton. You may save big
Slow down. You move too fast. When you’re driving on Route 20 through Oxford and Charlton, where a major road project is underway, police officers want motorists to ease off the gas.
One driver recently got tagged with a $555 ticket for speeding in a work zone, according to Oxford police.
The state Department of Transportation is redesigning and reconstructing Route 20 in Charlton and Oxford to improve safety and traffic operations.
Work includes widening the roadway, replacing bridges over the Little River and French River, adding sidewalks and shared use paths, installing a median barrier, improving safety and traffic operations at various intersections, and
enhancing stormwater treatment.
“Historically, this is a dangerous road,” said Charlton police Sgt. Anthony Gribbons. “And that’s the reason why MassDOT is pushing forward with the project, to try to fix some of those problems.
“There’s a lot of changes in the traffic patterns here, so they can do their work safely,” Gribbons added. “The traffic pattern changes based on what they’re doing for work. Once people get comfortable with the new traffic pattern, they go back to their old driving habits and they’re flying through here.”
The Route 20 project involves the reconstruction of approximately 3.2 miles between Richardson Corner Road in Charlton and Route 12 in Oxford. The road is basically being rebuilt.
The stretch has been the site of several bad crashes over the years, some of them fatal.
The improvements are expected to make the road safer.
The project is expected to take another three to four years.
Oxford police Chief Michael Daniels said officers are putting an emphasis on the safety of construction workers.
“We were having problems earlier in the project,” he said. “People were complaining and a lot of the construction workers and the people doing the work were feeling like they were going to get hit by cars.
“They actually hired an additional detail for traffic enforcement. And even doing traffic enforcement on Route 20 is dangerous. I’m hesitant putting my guys out there doing traffic in the construction but it has to be done. Otherwise, everyone’s at risk.”
Daniels said they are seeing motorists driving anywhere from 10 to 30 mph and in some cases 40 mph over the speed limit. As a deterrent, the Oxford Police Department posted the $555 ticket for driving 30 mph over the speed limit in a 45 mph.
Gribbons, the Charlton sergeant, who was on a break from a police detail on the reconstruction site when he spoke to a Telegram & Gazette reporter, said speed is a problem no matter what time of the day it is.
“When somebody’s driving fast, when somebody’s not paying attention, it magnifies the opportunity for a hazard or a crash,” Gribbons said. “We have crashes after-hours, during the day. There’s no time period that it’s higher than another time. People need to pay attention. They need to be aware that there’s workers in the road, that there are police officers in the road, and when they are in this area and they’re not driving safely, those other hazards magnify the potential impact of them not driving safely.”
On Tuesday, MassDOT will be holding a virtual public meeting to discuss the status on the project. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.
Daniels and Gribbons insist that they and their respective departments are not out to ruin people’s day by stopping them and handing out tickets. On the contrary, they’re out to deter bad driving habits and potentially save lives.
“We’re just trying to keep everyone safe,” Daniels said. “This is going to be a long project. We’re looking at probably another three, three-and-a-half years before this all ends. Obviously, Route 20 is a long stretch or road and it’s long overdue for repairs and improvements.”