Town officials urging patience with traffic challenges
By Mike Berger
Long lines have become the norm for Canton motorists since the closure of Pleasant Street earlier this month. (Michelle Stark photo)
It appeared that traffic conditions were at an all-time low on Thursday, September 13, when a utility pole fell across the intersection of Washington Street and Heritage Lane during the early morning drive time hours.
It took one motorist 45 minutes to cross town to get to Route 128, traveling the full length of Washington Street and detouring down Pecunit to Elm and Greenlodge streets. Police could not determine what caused the pole to fall but concluded it was not due to a motor vehicle accident.
“The pole that fell was a pole that was attached to a larger pole,” said Deputy Police Chief Helena Rafferty. “Just one of these freaky, weird things. We are grateful that no one was injured.”
In-town traffic since Labor Day has been challenging to say the least with the start of the Reservoir Dam repair project on Pleasant Street as well as a water main installation on Revere Street.
Earlier this week, traffic appeared to ease up somewhat as town officials adjusted the lights at Pleasant and Washington and Washington and Sherman streets.
The water main work on Revere Street, which was included as part of the development agreement between the town and the Revere Heritage Site developer, should be finished by early to mid October with the water line connection to customers.
As for the chief culprit of the bottleneck — the closure of Pleasant Street to through traffic — DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta said the contractor has reported initial progress but the “heavy work” has yet to begin. The project is expected to take nearly three months to complete, wrapping up in early December. Trotta said residents still have access to the Canton Senior Center on Pleasant Street via Sherman Street, and the public can access Pequitside Farm, the Earl Newhouse Waterfront, and the Parks and Recreation offices via Washington Street.
Police Chief Ken Berkowitz said unfortunately the dam must be repaired and partially opening Pleasant Street around the dam is not practical. “The closing of Pleasant Street has affected every other main commuter route in town, as people seek alternate routes,” he said. “The dam repair needs to be done and the engineers did not feel it was safe to do so while the road was open. I do not see traffic easing up significantly until the job is completed. I urge people to leave extra time and be patient while the work is being performed.”
As for the impacts on school buses …
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Posted by Mike Berger
on Sep 21 2018. Filed under News, Town Government.
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