King Street work slated at long last
A long-awaited overhaul for busy King Street in Franklin has received an injection of state funds that will allow the project - offering improved traffic flow, better signals, and enhanced vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle safety - to move forward next spring.
The state Transportation Improvement Program has allotted $3.8 million in state and federal funds toward the project, which focuses on upgrades to the Interstate 495 ramps at King Street. Work will extend along King Street from Union Street to Upper Union Street, and include construction on Upper Union Street from King Street to Constitution Boulevard.
The project is slated to go out for bid this fall, with construction starting next spring. Robert "Brutus" Cantoreggi, director of Franklin's Department of Public Works, said he expects construction will last 18 months. While there are likely to be delays, the roads involved in the project will remain open, he said.
The project is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and improving safety measures at several bustling intersections along King Street and at Interstate 495.
In addition to repaving roads, widening some lanes to provide left- and right-turning lanes, and creating bicycle travel lanes, the project will install stoplights at the I-495 access ramps.
"There have been accidents there, and there are unbelievable backups in the morning and afternoon, with people trying to get off 495 onto King Street," Cantoreggi said.
King Street has long been characterized by lengthy delays, long lines, and accidents at intersections both with and without signals. A traffic study in 2000 found 22,750 vehicles per day traveled the section of road, a figure that is predicted to reach 34,325 by 2010.
Traffic figures from 1997 to 1999 showed the intersection of King and Upper Union streets had 20 accidents while King Street and I-495 northbound and southbound had 34. The state Highway Department has rated the level of service on the I-495 northbound and southbound ramps at F in the morning peak hours, and C during the evening peak hours.
The planned upgrades also "should improve the flow of traffic going into the Franklin Industrial Park," Cantoreggi said.
The designs for the King Street improvements have been completed for the past few years, but just recently received the go-ahead from the state.
Franklin's town administrator, Jeffrey Nutting, "and I spent a lot of time going to TIP meetings," Cantoreggi said. "We have been 100 percent ready, and now they can take our project out to bid."
"We are very pleased that it was listed on the TIP and look forward to the completion of the project," Nutting said.
The town spent in excess of $200,000 in state funds earmarked for transportation projects toward the design of this project, Cantoreggi said, and held a public hearing on the design in October 2003, as well as an informational meeting this May that included representatives from MassHighway.
The state's Executive Office of Environmental Affairs found no areas of critical environmental concern with this project, noting that no work is proposed in any regulated wetland resource area, and upgrades to stormwater-control systems and buffers to prevent erosion and sedimentation runoff will be installed along the boundaries of wetland areas.
As work on King Street commences, officials continue to assess other heavily trafficked areas in town, Cantoreggi said.
Franklin recently completed a total reconstruction of Union Street, and is next looking to address Route 140's path through the center of town.
The state recently released funds for this effort, so design work will proceed this fall and winter, with a public hearing likely coming by spring, Cantoreggi said. 