Communities could ban tanker trucks from local traffic rotaries under legislation slated to be unveiled today in Everett, where a speeding tanker overturned in a rotary this month and ignited an inferno that torched two buildings, melted 21 cars, and left about a dozen families homeless.
"This will give communities - with proper transportation advice and a reasonable alternative route - the ability to come forward to the state to request that a truck not be allowed on a particular rotary," said state Senator Anthony Galluccio, a Democrat who represents Everett.
Galluccio, who is expected to be joined in announcing the bill this morning by Everett's fire chief and other local leaders at the scene of the Dec. 5 fire just off Sweetser Circle, said his proposal is aimed at giving cities and towns more control over roadways that pass through congested neighborhoods. The tanker that rolled over in Everett spilled 9,400 gallons of gasoline, which caught fire and forced the evacuation of at least 145 people from nearby homes, including an elderly housing complex.
He said he wants communities to decide for themselves where they want to ban certain types of vehicles. "What this does is to encourage communities to have that conversation."
Galluccio also said he will introduce legislation that would impose strict liability on truckers, manufacturers, fuel companies, and others for damage to people and property from such tanker accidents.
The Dec. 5 river of burning gasoline snaked from Sweetser Circle down Main Street, prompting many local officials to renew their longstanding calls to overhaul the busy stretch of Route 16, which includes the Sweetser and Santilli traffic circles. Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, who toured the scene that day, said state leaders would study the issue. He said it is possible some funds from the administration's new highway bond bill could be used to upgrade Sweetser Circle.
But local officials say the more pressing issue is the confusing design of the Santilli rotary, a few hundred yards west of Sweetser.
"It's a quagmire. Whoever engineered that made major mistakes," said state Representative Stephen "Stat" Smith, a Democrat who also is an alderman in Everett. "They certainly could have made the entrance and exits a much easier commute."
Heavy trucks, including many carrying hazardous materials from the nearby Everett Terminal and Distrigas LNG facilities, often travel Everett's network of traffic circles, because the nearby Alford Street bridge over the Mystic River to Boston and Interstate 93 has been closed to heavy trucks for more than four years. The bridge, owned by the City of Boston, is slated for a $36 million overhaul, starting in 2009.
Dennis Royer, Boston's chief of public works and transportation, said in a Dec. 6 interview that the project is listed for federal funding over the next four years. But Galluccio said yesterday he was unable to confirm with MassHighway, which would head the project, that the money has been committed to the overhaul.
Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@globe.com.
