Old Colony Planning Council has finalized a study of the Route 18 corridor in the towns of Bridgewater and East Bridgewater. As part of the study, OCPC has developed a public outreach program to garner input from the public regarding thoughts on what types of problems exist, where traffic problems exist within the corridor, as well as potential improvements and fixes for these problems. The purpose of this study is to address traffic congestion and improve safety, circulation, and mobility for all road users (bicyclists and walkers), as well as vehicles, and to coordinate any recommendations with planned road projects and planned development. The study includes; data collection (traffic volumes, 24-hour and intersection volumes, speeds, heavy vehicle volumes), peak hour levels of service at key intersections and bottlenecks, traffic safety (the number and types of crashes at problematic locations), the condition of the built environment (pavement, sidewalks, pavement markings, signs, and traffic control devices), transit operations and potential for expansion, bicycle and pedestrian safety and accommodations, and truck operations and constraints (turning radii, height, and weight restrictions).
Results from the RT 18 Corridor Study:
Previous
Next
PROJECT TIMELINE:
October 2022 - November 2022
Review Scope, Data Collection, and Analyses of Existing Conditions
Review Existing Conditions and Data Collection
The beginning stages of the RT 18 Corridor Study involved reviewing the scope of work for the project, data collection from traffic studies, traffic counts, and photographing via drone and personal cameras. This data was combined to create an analysis of the current existing conditions of RT 18. OCPC staff presented their findings on October 6, 2022 during an Old Colony Joint Transportation Meeting.
October 2022 - December 2022
Meet with MassDOT, Corridor Community officials and other Interested Parties
Stakeholder Meetings
In the next phase of the corridor study OCPC staff met with officials at MassDOT, corridor community officials from the towns of East Bridgewater and Bridgewater and other members of the public interested in the changes in their communities. During this time a survey was created to gather input from members of the community to review their opinions on the current conditions of RT 18.
March 2023 - May 2023
Review Existing Conditions, Develop Potential Alternative Improvements
Input and Review Recommendations with Stakeholders
During the third phase of the corridor study OCPC staff engaged with the communities on several occasions to increase public awareness. Some of these events were a Council Meeting in Bridgewater on March 9, 2023, Old Colony Metropolitan Planning Organization meetings on February 21, 2023 and April 18 2023, and Bridgewater State University's Earth Day on April 21, 2023 (shown above).
June 2023 - July 2023
Complete Future Build Conditions, Develop and Review Study Recommendations
Analysis (Future No-Build, Build)
On June 30, 2023 the public survey for the RT 18 Corridor Study closed. In the following month OCPC staff analyzed the results of the survey. From there staff formulated the best approach for the corridor and worked on a presentation for presenting the plans.
August 2023 - October 2023
Review Study, Circulate Draft Report, Review/Revision, Final Report September 2023
Draft and Final Report
For the final stage of the corridor study OCPC staff continued to summarize recommendations from the public survey to create a draft report. The draft was then sent to stakeholders for review and revision. Once the draft was finalized a final report of the RT 18 Corridor Study was presented to stakeholders on September 5, 2023. The Corridor Study will be presented to the public on October 5, 2023.
