Sen. Don Humason. (WNG File Photo)
WESTFIELD – As Gov. Charlie Baker signed the FY18 budget into law on July 17, one of the line items that Sen. Don Humason proposed into the budget was approved by Baker.
Humason proposed a study to be conducted on the Massachusetts Turnpike, specifically examining the costs and economic impacts of adding an interchange between Exit two (Lee) and Exit three (Westfield).
Currently, the distance between those two exits is about 30 miles. According to a statement from Humason, that is nearly a quarter of the total 138 miles that the Mass Turnpike spans from Boston to the border of New York.
With Mass DOT (Department of Transportation) now having the ability to give a more extensive look into this situation, Humason is certain of what the main problem is.
“The real issue is just to determine where along the turnpike corridor between (Exits) two and three, there’s the proper access and space to do an on and off ramp,” said Humason.
Since the state already owns property in Blandford from trying to build an interchange many years ago, Humason feels that Blandford would be a reasonable spot to have a ramp.
“It depends on how much money they (the state) want to spend,” said Humason.
Humason also points out that the exact location of the on and off ramp would have to be completely safe. According to Humason, DOT has described in the past that vehicles can’t go from merging onto the pike at a very minimal speed, and then going up to 65 miles per hour once getting onto the highway, especially since someone else is already flying down the highway at a high speed.
That instance is why Humason believes that an on and off ramp would be the best option.
“Even though you’re not doing a new interchange, you might have to do an on ramp or an entry lane to enable you to get up to speed so you can merge safely into traffic that is already going that speed,” said Humason.
The approval of the study is at least a sign that there could be progress moving forward.
“We put this amendment forward before and it passed in the senate, I don’t think it ever made it through the house,” said Humason. “But it has now, and the Governor has signed it, which I hope means that he and the Secretary of DOT are okay with this idea.”
Humason also noted that a lot of truck drivers are in favor of the turnpike study because they don’t want to go through all of the small roads that they go through in that 30-mile span.
