WESTFIELD – The city is slowly improving the major traffic corridors, upgrading downtown streets to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion that has plagued the city, and motorists, for decades.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti presented data on modifications to the North Elm Street and Notre Dame traffic pattern to the Traffic Commission last night.
The Traffic Commission is comprised of Cressotti, Chief Police John Camerota, Public Works Superintendent Jim Mulvenna, and two citizens, Thomas Liptak appointed to represent the interests of the business community, and retired police sergeant and traffic bureau supervisor Brian Boldini appointed to represent the interests of residents. They have discussed options to improve the flow of traffic through the intersection of North Elm and Notre Dame in the past, including plans to add different configurations of dedicated turning lanes.
Cressotti said that the plan now is to focus specifically on North Elm Street and that much of the traffic problem on Notre Dame Street will be resolved by the completion of the Pochassic Street Bridge reconstruction project.
The state Department of Transportation conducted a preconstruction conference on the $2.6 million project on May 17, 2012, with the contractor, R. Bates & Sons, Inc., of Clinton and local officials.
The Pochassic Street Bridge is also known locally as the Drug Store Hill Bridge.
Cressotti said last night that the contractor has already constructed a temporary pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks and is pushing to complete the project later this year.
“They are trying to get the bridge open for use by the end of the construction season and the state is apparently willing to commit funding for overtime and weekends to achieve that goal,” Cressotti said.
The Elm Street reconfiguration is a city-financed project that Mayor Daniel M. Knapik plans to initiate after the Pochassic Street Bridge is reopened to relieve traffic pressure on Notre Dame Street, which is currently the only access onto Prospect Hill and to Westfield High School.
The original concept for the North Elm revamp was to add two dedicated left turn lanes at the Notre Dame intersection.
“The city has the desire to introduce that central turning lane,” Cressotti said. “The current four lane configuration is not sufficient for the volume of traffic and the turning movements. So there will be two through lanes for northbound traffic and two through lanes for southbound traffic, in addition to the dedicated left turn lanes north (to upper Notre Dame Street) and south (to lower Notre Dame Street), meaning that the street will be widened to a total of five lanes at that intersection.”
Cressotti said there is also a desire to alleviate traffic congestion along North Elm Street, between the Notre Dame intersection and the recently complete Great River Bridge site.
“The city is looking to introduce a center turning lane all the way down North Elm Street, all the way down to the obelisk where the one-way streets merge in front of the Westwood Building,” Cressotti said, “but it will not be a suicide lane, like they now have in Southwick. There will be turning movements delineated.”
