Round One: Fixing Hingham rotary gets state OK
A proposed $2.4 million overhaul of the Route 3A rotary in Hingham - the scene of many a fender-bender over the years - cleared its first hurdle last week, with the Massachusetts Highway Department agreeing that a traffic problem exists there and that it needs to be fixed.
But while that decision marks a significant first step in doing away with the 75-year-old traffic circle near the harbor, there are a number of other benchmarks to be reached before the proposed remedy - a T-shaped intersection with traffic signals - is up and running.
“What the state has done so far is agree there’s a problem at the rotary,’’ said James Gallagher, senior transportation planner for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. “Now the community must find a way to fix it.’’
The Route 3A rotary channels some 30,000 southbound motorists a day to its three spokes: 17,000 to Hull, and 13,000 to Scituate, Cohasset, and other parts of Hingham. In the summer, with beach traffic, the daily traffic count rises to about 40,000.
According to engineering consultant Vanasse and Associates, hired to take the town through the study and design process for the rebuilding project, the roundabout was the scene of 60 automobile crashes between 2005 and 2007. Most, however, did not involve serious injury to those involved.
Vanasse and Associates engineer Jeffrey Dirk said Hingham’s proposal, approved by its Board of Selectmen, mentions alternatives that were considered and outlines the preferred plan for easing the traffic snarl - rebuilding the rotary into a traditional T-intersection, with traffic lights.
The board had also considered a two-lane roundabout similar to the existing rotary but more efficient at slowing and channeling traffic, and a modified rotary design with some traffic lights added.
Chances are the state will agree with the town’s preferred alternative, Dirk said. “They lean heavily toward the local preference, and everything that was submitted indicated the traffic signal T-intersection works best.’’
The T-intersection with traffic signals is also the best way to get pedestrians and bicyclists safely to the heavily used wharf area that borders the rotary. Improving pedestrian conditions in the harbor area has been a high priority for town officials and fits well with the harbor master plan, completed in 2007.
Dirk anticipates the town will complete the design phase for the roadwork in 2010, running several public forums at different stages. He predicts the project will be ready for construction by the end of that calendar year.
But it’s going to take $2.4 million for the conversion. And Gallagher said the state’s Transportation Improvement Program list, which lays out the funding schedule for major road projects in Massachusetts, has all its money allocated through to 2013.
“Given the backlog we have, projects wouldn’t be jumping the queue,’’ Gallagher said. “So even if everyone agrees this is a high priority, there’s no funding available until fiscal 2014, unless we have a compelling reason for it to go sooner.’’
Dirk said he remains optimistic. “There are always amendments and changes to the funding list,’’ he said.
Town officials have also been put on notice that a large infusion of stimulus funds for such projects is expected in the spring of next year.
During a public discussion of the alternatives, some residents who live on roads leading into the rotary expressed concern that a traffic light arrangement might be more dangerous, with motorists speeding up to “beat’’ the light. Hingham officials say there will be several more chances for input into how the intersection will be designed.
Public safety officials in nearby Hull were consulted by Dirk during the rotary study, since the town uses the 3A corridor and the rotary to get its ambulance to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.
“Any time we have to take a patient around the rotary, it’s a concern,“ Hull Deputy Fire Chief Chris Russo said recently. “In the mornings and late afternoons, it gets pretty precarious for emergency services.’’
With the proposed T-intersection, the signal lights would be programmed to allow emergency vehicles to override them to get through quickly.
Laura Burns, chairwoman of the Hingham Board of Selectmen, said reconstruction of the traffic circle, when it does take place, will cause some disruption to motorists.
“I think it’s going to be difficult, but after so many years of construction in town for the Greenbush line, we’re used to it here in Hingham,’’ she said.
Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com. 
