Town officials are preparing for the next phase of the reconstruction project on College Highway in Southwick which will start at Tannery Road and proceed to the Westfield city line. (File photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – Now that the center of town has been revamped with new drainage, sidewalks and a center turning lane, Mass DOT is considering its next project.
Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jeffrey Neece told the Board of Selectmen last night that the state is eyeing the rest of College Highway.
“The MassDOT is concentrating on the northern side of town based on 50 percent more traffic than the south side,” said Neece. Neece said the project would encompass Route 10 from Tannery Road to the Westfield line.
“A design exception report will be completed by MassDOT,” Neece said. The report is needed because improvements to College Highway fall under national highway regulations that require 12-foot travel lanes and eight-foot shoulders.
“That road has 11-foot travel lanes and four-foot shoulders,” said Neece.
If the road can be improved without widening, Neece said it would save money “and still maintain the safety of the road.”
Neece said the 25-percent design should be complete in the next two years and the project would likely include drainage improvements, sidewalk installation and a concentration on intersections where accidents have occurred.
“There would be no plans for traffic lights,” Neece said.
The recently completed project included the full depth reconstruction, cold planning, resurfacing, box widening with the addition of an exclusive center turning lane, concrete sidewalks and concrete wheelchair ramps, traffic signal reconstruction at two intersections, the extension of a culvert, drainage improvements and ornamental street lighting. The bid price was $4.8 million.
