Town Readies RT.39/Chatham Rd. Intersection Upgrade

HARWICH – The town is getting ready to seek contractors for the intersection improvements at Route 39 and Chatham Road, according to Department of Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper.

Hooper and Steve Rhoads, a design engineer with VHB, Inc., made a presentation to the select board on Sept. 29. Rhoads said the 100 percent design is done and ready to proceed to bidding.

The town has been looking at fixes to the intersection since 2018. The roads intersect at a 45 degree angle which requires neck-straining movements for drivers to view oncoming vehicles around trees and hedges.

 The town retained VHB a year ago to do a survey and design for the improvements. The final design was completed in August, according to Rhoads. The proposed design would realign Chatham Road as it connects with Route 39 at a nearly 90-degree angle by relocating the intersection slightly to the east. 

 The new design would provide a small cement island separating vehicles approaching Route 39 from vehicles entering Chatham Road. The entrance to Chatham Road from Route 39 would have modifications requiring a sharper turning radius for vehicles coming from the west. The south side of the entrance would have guardrails, a mountable curb, stamped cement and a construction truck apron to accommodate larger trucks. The island separating the access and egress to Chatham Road would have similar design features.

 “I like the turn off onto Chatham Road, it will slow speed down,” said Select Board member Mark Kelleher.

The good news was that all of the proposed work can be done within the right of way, said Hooper. 

There will be other infrastructure improvements, including additional catch basins and three new leaching basins; all existing utility poles will be retained and Cape Cod berm edge treatment will be installed. The plan calls for replacing hedges within the right of way adjacent to the property at 10 Chatham Rd. to improve sight lines. 

“We don’t need any of her property,” Hooper said of the V-shaped parcel at the intersection, owned by Stephanie Jaeger Pafenberg.

The estimated cost $361,000 with an additional contingency. Hooper said the town will use Chapter 90 state highway funds which are provided to municipalities on an annual basis. There is $1.2 million in the account, he said, adding that the Healy Administration provided the town with an additional $400,000 this year.

Select Board member Jeffrey Handler recognized the town’s traffic safety committee for moving the project along.