WILBRAHAM — At its Sept. 16 meeting, the Wilbraham Select Board unanimously agreed to proceed with the next step of the Route 20 project, which will be the public hearing phase.
Town Administrator Nick Breault shared a brief update at the meeting, stating that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was ready to move forward to the public hearing phase. This will involve a 25% public hearing that is organized by the state.
The Route 20 project focuses on resurfacing and widening sections of Boston Road, adding sidewalks to Boston Road and reconstructing the intersection of Main Street, Maple Street and Boston Road, Director of Public Works Tonya Capparello previously told Reminder Publishing.
The project seeks to increase safety on Boston Road and the selected intersection. It has been ongoing since 2019 when the town and state first identified five miles of Boston Road as most in need, Capparello said. Since this time, the project area has been reduced to three miles approximately between Soccer City Sports Center and the intersection of Boston Road and Cottage Avenue, due to resurfacing that was recently completed.
Capparello estimated that the 25% public hearing will take place virtually in February 2025 and will be designed to allow residents to ask questions and share thoughts on the project with the state. She encouraged residents to attend the hearing if possible, noting that the final design is not formed yet and that residents’ input could impact the final plan.
Breault stated at the Sept. 16 meeting that discussions with MassDOT were still occurring over the type of signalization that will be used in front of the Wilbraham Fire Department, explaining that the town was seeking a signal that will be more “effective.” He noted that this will be discussed in more detail at the upcoming public hearing. The Wilbraham Fire Department is located at 2770 Boston Rd. near the selected intersection of Boston Road with Main Street and Maple Street.
The Route 20 project is expected to begin construction in 2029 within its current timeline. It initially was scheduled for 2050 when addressing the five miles, Capparello said. At that time, the Boston Road intersection was also going to be cut from the project. However, an updated timeline and project details were provided during a meeting between the town and MassDOT in early September.
“For the most part, no one really has a solution on what the best design is there [at the intersection of Boston Road, Main Street and Maple Street] that’s going to fix all of the issues,” Capparello stated at the Aug. 26 Select Board meeting. “They do have a draft proposal which basically is like a T-intersection with a traffic light and somehow merging everything else in there.” She noted that this was “more a concept” than a full design, citing the intersection’s challenging elevation and proximity to utilities.
A formal draft design for the intersection will be shared at the 25% public hearing, Capparello said.
