WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The state Department of Transportation is evaluating comments from a "virtual meeting" on a conceptual plan to install a rotary at the junction of Routes 7 and 43 in South Williamstown.

 

MassDOT collected 100 comments from the meeting in January and February and shared them with the town, which posted the responses on its website.

 

The majority of those who responded — 51 out of 100 — checked the box indicating they were in favor of the plan, with another seven saying they were "leaning" in favor and just 17 out of 100 saying they were not in favor.

 

The rest marked the boxes for "less in favor" (11) or neutral (14).

 

A MassDOT spokesperson said virtual meeting, which provide images and text to explain projects the state agency is considering, have been valuable tools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"We are still in the process of evaluating the comments and the design process will progress," MassDOT's Judith Reardon Riley said. "The next milestone is the 25 percent design public hearing which will be scheduled. The hearing will be the next major opportunity for the public to submit formal comments, but we welcome them at any time."

 

Some users of the Route 7/43 intersection, known as the Five Corners, were expansive in making their case for or against the project.

 

"Hopefully this new roundabout and additional signage can be installed as soon as possible," one respondent wrote in the comments section. "I drive through this intersection several times a day. With the long downhill grade from the north and 45 mph, most cars seem to go faster than the speed limit. The crossing is very scary and I am always nervous about going through this intersection."

 

Safety was a priority for many of the respondents favoring the project.

 

"This is a very dangerous intersection," one wrote. "Years ago, before the current concrete curbs and double stop signs were installed on Route 43, I experienced a harrowing near miss here. I was driving south on Route 7 and had the right-of-way through the intersection. With no warning an eastbound car on Route 43 drove straight through the intersection without slowing down and stopping, passing inches behind my car. Just a fraction of a second saved us from a possibly fatal collision. To this day I am thankful that this near miss did not become a tragic accident.

 

"Generally, I am not a fan of traffic circles, but I think one would make this intersection much safer."

 

On the other hand, a different respondent argued that this particular intersection is ill-suited for a traffic circle.

 

"I personally think a roundabout in this location would cause more accidents than it would avert because you don't typically install roundabouts at the bottom of steep hills where big trucks can lose their brakes from slowing down over the distance just to make a roundabout safely," they wrote. "Plus in the winter time when there is a storm, the roundabout can easily be taken out by trucks or other vehicle sliding down the hill because they are unable to slow down enough to avoid plowing directly through the middle of the roundabout."

 

One respondent who identified as "neutral" on the question suggested an alternative to a rotary. They argued that a stop light (replacing the existing blinking red for Route 43 and blinking yellow for U.S. 7) would be less expensive and more effective.

 

MassDOT responded to that comment by pointing out that the agency is governed by the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which sets parameters for traffic volumes that warrant stop lights.

 

"The traffic volumes at the project location do not meet the minimum warrants," a MassDOT representative wrote. "Traffic signals at unwarranted locations have been shown to increase rear-end crashes and be detrimental to the intersection operation."

 

Most of the comments the agency received read like this one.

 

"I am a professional driver (CDL_A/hazmat/tanker). I drive through the 7/43 intersection on a regular basis in the course of a year. I have been driving through the intersection for over almost 40 years. Putting in a rotary at this intersection is a sound/scientific/common sense solution to making the intersection safer for everybody. I think it should happen as soon as possible, before any more innocent people are injured or killed by the poor design that exists there now."

 

One respondent, who said they were not in favor of a roundabout, offered an alternate solution that was unique.

 

"Just install an overpass at the base of the hill along Route 7 with Route 43 passing directly beneath the overpass," they wrote. "Then on both sides of the overpass you could have both on and off ramps so people could get where they need to go. This way the problem is solved and you don't have to worry about any more accidents from anyone cutting anyone else off or from people being unable to slow down due to the weather."

 

MassDOT's Riley indicated that kind of approach would be considerably more expensive than the estimated $1.5 million roundabout, which could go be designed and out to bid as early as 2023.

 

"A full interchange project would have significant cost implications, not to mention the negative impacts to adjacent property and environmental resources," Riley said. "Cost estimates based on concepts are proven unreliable, but with the size and scope of a larger project it would be a substantially higher cost."