HYANNIS – Residents and business owners expressed their concerns during the kickoff Mass Department of Transportation (MASSDOT) meeting last night at the Hyannis Transportation Center.
It was the first of twelve such meetings to be held in towns statewide to address the needs and desires of public transportation users as it relates to the 2018-2022 Capital Investment Plan (CIP).
The current plan prioritizes reliability upgrades, to the tune of nearly $10 billion in statewide spending over the next five years.
Locally, $9.3 million dollars of that budget will be spent on intersection improvements at Iyannough and Yarmouth Roads in Barnstable.
That was the project which inspired the most comment from those present at the meeting, all of which were in favor.
State Representative Will Crocker expressed concern for both personal vehicle navigation and emergency vehicle navigation through that area.
“One only has to try and navigate that area on a rainy day in July to find out the impact on traffic in the entire area, how it backs up in all four directions,” Crocker said.
Other highway projects on the state budget include Mashpee corridor improvements on Nathan Ellis Highway priced at $9.5 million and municipal bridge improvements.
The Chatham Municipal Airport, Barnstable Municipal Airport, Falmouth Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport are all slated to receive a combined $60 million in improvements.
A representative from the office of State Senator Julian Cyr read a letter of concern from the senator that funding was not made available for overhead bridge improvements in the area of Route 6 from the Cape Cod Canal to exit 6.
“Jersey barriers and chain link fencing serve as unsightly protective barriers, and while the parapets may be in functional condition, they aren’t in the condition required to serve a region which relies on tourism – an industry where appearances matter,” he said.
MASSDOT has already received over 1,000 public comments regarding the CIP. Interested parties can learn more at mass.gov/massdot/cip.
Comments may be sent to [email protected].
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
