State To Hold Hearing On Rt. 28-Crowell Rd. Intersection Upgrade

CHATHAM – With a design public hearing scheduled for June 24 on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s proposed upgrades to the Route 28-Crowell Road intersection, town officials continue to have some misgivings about the project.

 “My concern is this further commercializes the community,” board member Stuart Smith said about the plan aimed at improving the safety of the intersection.

 “This is the gateway to the town,” said board member Dean Nicastro, who opposed the project in the past but said he is willing to see it move forward to find out what the final outcome will be.

 Long in the planning stages — the project began with the initial town meeting approval of funding in 2007 — and was added to the Cape’s transportation improvement plan in 2013, with a planned start date of 2028 at an estimated cost of $5.13 million, with the federal government paying 80 percent of the construction cost and the state 20 percent.

 The proposed changes to the intersection include realigning travel lanes and the addition of turning lanes, new ADA compliant and wider sidewalks and new crosswalks; upgrading of traffic signals, including pedestrian activation, as well as signs and pavement marking; there is currently no signal prioritization for the emergency vehicles from the nearby fire/rescue department; and the addition of bike lanes to lead into the on-street loop down Queen Anne Road. 

 For the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, there was some good news in a preliminary presentation made by Projects and Operations Administrator Terry Whalen at the June 9 select board meeting. A multi-use path along the south side of Route 28 that was proposed to run along the Meetinghouse lawn has been dropped. The path would have gone behind several large trees and been close to the Meetinghouse side door, and would have ended at the property line. Whalen called it a “bike path to nowhere.”

 “People were very, very concerned,” Select Board Chair Jeffrey Dykens said of the proposed path. “To be honest with you, that’s very good news” and conforms to comments made during the last public presentation of the plan in 2022.

 Next week’s hearing, which begins at 4 p.m. at the annex, will lead into the 75 percent design phase this fall, with the final plans completed in early 2027, said Whalen. Construction would then begin in the spring of 2028 and should last one season, although the work will pause during the summer, he said. 

 At all times during construction, travel lanes will remain open, he added.

 Because of its location at the entrance to downtown, the intersection changes must be sensitive to the scale and appearance of the surrounding area, officials and residents have said. For instance, the current traffic signals will be replaced by a black, single-arm traffic signal, which Public Works Director Rob Faley said would be “context sensitive.” At the upcoming hearing, state transportation officials will present new visuals to provide context for the changes, Whalen said.

 Resident Elaine Gibbs lambasted the plan as “absurd,” saying that the state should spend the money on repairing Route 28 and its sidewalks rather than this project, which will significantly widen the roadway.

 “We’re going to have these massive overhead lights,” she said. “We’re not Boston. This is going to look like an approach to Logan with all the lighting they’re putting in.” The intersection is not dangerous and doesn’t need to be upgraded, she added. “We should tell them to go away.”

 Dykens said there are safety concerns at the five-way intersection, and officials and residents should go into next week’s hearing “with an attitude of listening.”

 Whalen said the state’s presentation at the hearing will be made by video, which may be posted at www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-transportation/events?_page=2 prior to the session. As of Monday the video had not yet been posted.

 Those who cannot make it to the hearing and wish to submit written comments can send them Carrie A. Lavallee, P.E., Chief Engineer, MassDOT, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, Attention Project Management, Project File No. 607405.