Potential Safety Improvements Along Route 6 Under Evaluation

HYANNIS – With motor vehicle accidents on the rise across the Bay State, potential safety improvements to be made along Route 6 from the Sagamore Bridge to Orleans are being considered.

The Cape Cod Commission is considering whether adjustments should be made to Route 6, otherwise known as the Mid-Cape Highway, to improve safety along the four-lane highway.

“We recognize that there are some safety challenges at the interchanges on Route 6,” said Transportation Program Manager at the Cape Cod Commission Steven Tupper.

“What we’ve done to date is look at the crash data and identified some of the biggest challenges, and then looked at where the opportunities for expansion are. We might have some low hanging fruit in some locations and identify some of the constraints, like on the bridge locations where it’ll make it more of a challenge to make improvements.”

The Commission is currently in the process of evaluating the interchanges along the roadway and are identifying possible alternatives that can be utilized.

“Over 200 crashes a year spread between the different interchanges,” Tupper explained.

“There are a few hotspots. I would say that all of the interchanges are sub-standard, but we see a concentration of crashes on a couple of specific interchanges: Exit 6 being a hot spot there and then some on the two lane portion, exit 10 and 11 we see some challenges there, some high crash numbers there despite the fact that the volume drops off a bit.”

The potential to expand the paved shoulder from the Cape Cod Canal to the Orleans/Eastham Rotary is also being evaluated.

An analysis of potential benefits and impacts, as well as preliminary alternatives will be presented at public meetings this month.

The first public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 19 at 11:00 a.m. at Harwich Town Hall. A second meeting will follow on Thursday, December 20 at 5:00 p.m. at the Cape Cod Commission office, which is located at 3225 Main Street (Route 6A) in Barnstable.

By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center