Sheriff Calls Out Dartmouth Construction Project Tying Up Traffic
DARTMOUTH (CBS) - It's no Big Dig but it is a massive road project right at Faunce Corner Road and Interstate 195 in Dartmouth. For drivers, ongoing roadwork in the area is an orange barrel nightmare.
"Cars are on the other side, they can't get in, they don't know how to get out," one woman told WBZ-TV's Bill Shields. "They don't know how to go south, north, in between the barrels, around the barrels."
Confusion often leads to this: fender benders. While WBZ-TV was there, two accidents happened in 10 minutes.
Of more concern to first responders is the traffic. While work is underway, lanes have been shifted or taken away and the tie ups are monumental.
"What we have to do is constantly make sure that the traffic is flowing properly in difficult circumstances," Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said. "Sometimes they're actually merging right on to the travel lane on 195 without a merge lane. So those are really dangerous kinds of situations."
It's road work and bridge repair all in one 3-year project, and in a neighborhood that's growing rapidly, it's needed. But the headaches are frequent and severe.
"The extra amount of time it takes to get through some of those intersections and down to where we need to be for emergency services are delayed," Dartmouth Police Lt. James Storey said.
As one Dartmouth businessman said, "I know you've got to crack some eggs to make an omelet, but when they're done with this next spring this better be the best looking omelet I've ever seen."
