Adams Eyes 2031 Construction for Howland Avenue Safety Improvements
ADAMS, Mass. — For several years, the town has been working on plans to improve safety along Howland Avenue, with the reconstruction project now anticipated for inclusion in the 2031 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
The overhaul to Howland Avenue is aimed at reducing speeding, improving roadway safety and expanding pedestrian and bicycle access. The project also seeks to address aging infrastructure and deteriorating roadway conditions along the Route 8 corridor.
Howland Avenue currently consists of four travel lanes, with two lanes in each direction, creating a wide roadway that allows vehicles to travel at higher speeds.
According to VHB, the town's engineering consultant, Howland Avenue carries an average of 14,223 vehicles daily. Although the posted speed limit is 45 mph, traffic studies found that the roadway's 85th-percentile operating speed is 56 mph.
"This four-lane cross section was constructed in 1997 with the goal of providing roadway capacity for traffic anticipated to be generated by redevelopment in the area, which never occurred," VHB's Pre-25 percent design submission said.
"The improvement project was initiated to enhance safety, accessibility, and multimodal connectivity while addressing deteriorated pavement, drainage, and utility needs."
The proposed redesign includes reducing the existing four-lane roadway to one 11-foot travel lane in each direction from the Specialty Minerals Facility to just South of the North Adams City Line.
"The real importance of the project is the road diet, so that'll restrict traffic to one lane in each direction, kind of slowing those speeds down and taking away from sort of the dragway aspect of it," Town Administrator Nicholas Caccamo said.
"The proposed Route 8 cross section generally consists of two 11-foot travel lanes, a 14-foot center turn lane, 4- to 6-foot shoulders, and 10-foot shared-use paths on both sides of the roadway separated by grass buffers that vary by location," the VHB's Pre-25 percent design submission said.
In areas where a continuous two-way left-turn lane is not needed, raised medians would be constructed in place of the center lane, it said.
The project would continue along Lime Street, which carries an average of 1,778 vehicles daily. Currently, its roadway has one 12-foot travel lane in each direction with 3-foot shoulders, the document said.
Pedestrian access is limited to a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along the western side of the street, with no designated bicycle lanes or paths.
VHB's proposed redesign includes 11-foot travel lanes with shoulders ranging from 2 to 4 feet wide. The plans also call for a 10-foot-wide shared-use path along the eastern side of Lime Street, connecting pedestrians and bicyclists to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail.
Members of the public works subcommittee asked how this work will affect Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's plans for a 9.3-mile shared-use path connecting the existing Ashuwillticook Rail Trail to the Williamstown Mohican Path.
"This project is likely to happen before the northern extension of the rail trail," Caccamo said.
"Other improvements on Lime Street include a mill and overlay, sidewalk and driveway reconstruction, and improvements over the culvert including a moment slab with concrete barrier and bicycle railing," VHB's document said.
The Lime Street connection is a "major benefit" because it creates a safer and more convenient access to the regional trail network, it said.
The railroad owner must approve the final crossing surfaces on Route 8 and Lime Street, but no changes to the existing railroad signals or gates are planned. The shared-use path is also designed to avoid interfering with the Route 8 crossing gates.
"This could be a real significant improvement for those neighborhoods on the northern side of town because it'll feel calmer in a lot of ways," Caccamo said.
The "conceptual cost estimate for the reconstruction" is approximately $14.9 million for 2026 pricing, but that figure is projected to increase to $18.2 million by 2031, VHB's submission said.
Although construction is currently projected for 2031, Caccamo said the project could move forward sooner if funding becomes available or another project is delayed.
"It's a few years down the road. Doesn't mean it can't move up as well," he said, noting that continued progress on the design could help position the project for earlier funding.
He added that the town must account for an annual inflation rate of approximately 4 percent.
The town has submitted its 10 percent design to the state for review and will continue to coordinate with them and VHB as that project evolves.
"So, riders or pedestrians could come off of Howland Avenue, down Lime Street, and pick up the trail, then continue south or north, depending on where that project goes on the other phases," Caccamo said.
Tags: road work,
