I-495 towns will vie for roadwork dollars

Communities relying on the northern portion of Boston's outer loop for easy transportation and economic development will need to fight for every dollar from the Massachusetts road improvement fund.

A Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation & Public Works study completed in June reports that traffic on I-495 between Westford and Salisbury will overwhelm the road's capacity by 2030 unless $179 million in improvements are made.

None of the proposed improvements have even been scheduled; and for the costly, more regionally significant projects, those cities and towns in Northern Middlesex County and the Merrimack Valley with proposed projects need them to be prioritized on the long-term transportation plan, where all road improvements vie for the same pot of money, said Adam Hurtubise, spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation.

"We see the corridor as vital from an economic development perspective," said Beverly Woods, executive director for the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments. "As development continues to occur, we need to adapt."

Luckily for the 495 communities, the vast majority of the study's recommended projects are small; easily completed or folded into other planned construction; and address immediate congestion issues such as retiming traffic lights, installing new traffic lights, adding turn lanes, and lengthening acceleration and deceleration lanes, Hurtubise said.

However, the biggest recommendation, the one that aims for long-term stability of the 495 corridor - a $171 million widening in both directions - requires planning and widespread support from the state and regional transportation improvement programs. The study says the widening project must be complete within 21 years, so it's difficult to tell how the current financial crisis could slow its completion, Hurtubise said.

"The growth around 495 is essential, and we need to keep the traffic flowing to keep the industrial and commercial businesses thriving along the corridor," said Robert Jefferies, Westford Board of Selectmen chairman. "A lot of jobs in Westford are reliant on 495."

In addition to the $171-million widening and $8 million in smaller improvement projects, the 495 study completed in June recommends:

Continued monitoring of the roadway to ensure congestion doesn't increase faster or slower than anticipated.

A full interchange at I-495 and I-95.

Separate studies on the viability in replacing six 495 interchanges in Chelmsford, Lowell, Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and Haverhill.

Three new park and ride lots.

Continued improvements to the public transportation system.

Traffic volumes vary greatly along the corridor, with 45,000 daily trips on the eastern edge in Salisbury and 123,500 daily trips on the western edge in Westford. Traffic volumes peak near Lowell with 140,500 daily trips.

By 2030, the study expects traffic volumes to increase by 15,000-20,000 daily trips, which will cause much greater congestion, Hurtubise said.

"Many crashes are the result - at least in part - of congestion," Hurtubise said. "By recommending improvements such as lengthening acceleration or deceleration lanes on the mainline or signal improvements at the on and off-ramps, the intended result would also be safety improvements."

Along the 40-mile stretch, there were more than 3,500 traffic accidents, including 35 fatalities, from 2002 through 2005, the years the study looked at the crash data. Without making projections, the study says the crash rate will only get worse as traffic volumes increase.

The worst interchange for accidents - US Route 3 in Chelmsford - has no changes proposed by the 495 corridor study. However, Route 3 was widened as part of a separate project after the study crash data was complete, so the study assumes needed improvements have already occurred there.

The study specifically says the 495 corridor does not need any more interchanges, which upsets Westford officials, as the town has been asking for an interchange with state Route 225 for 15 years, said Jefferies.

"It has been 15 years of no progress, and now here is a study saying we don't need it," Jefferies said.

While the study says a Route 225 interchange would cause minimal improvements, Jefferies believes building another Westford connection to 495 is the best solution to the congestion problems at the Boston Road interchange.

Motorists will drive to Chelmsford just to avoid Boston Road, Jefferies said, so they would be more than willing to drive a shorter distance to a new interchange at Route 225.

"They go by these computer programs, and I'm not sure how accurate those are to the way people really drive," Jefferies said. "I'm disappointed they refuse to give us additional access."

Before the June study recommended $179 million worth of improvements to I-495, the Massachusetts Highway Department was at or near completion on $99.2 million in separate improvements along the corridor.

Brad Kane can be reached at brad.j.kane@gmail.com.