Traffic Signal for Rte. 1 Will Reduce Crashes

ROWLEY – For the last few weeks, when you turned off Central Street onto State Highway Rte. 1, your heart was probably not beating as fast as it once did.
The reason: MassDOT has installed the long-needed traffic light with turn signals at the dangerous intersection. Previously there were only stop signs, followed by a flashing yellow light that controlled traffic.
Between 2014 and 2019, this intersection had 22 crashes, an average of 3.67 crashes per year, which is well above the district and statewide averages for crashes in intersections, the MassDOT found. Most crashes were angle type, which indicate “difficult turning movements at the intersection and poor sight lines.”
The Rte. 1 intersection was rated at a moderate Level C during the morning rush hour and slightly better, at Level B, in the afternoon rush hour. But “the minor street approaches of Glen Street and Central Street experience significant delays with level of service E or F, which is typical for unsignalized approaches to a major arterial,” the DOT report said.
The traffic signal is projected to reduce angle crashes by up to 67 percent.
The state worked for months designing and building the intersection. MassDOT considered four options — doing nothing, installing a four-way stop sign, building a rotary or installing a full traffic signal.
The traffic signal won out.
The cost of the traffic light was $1.3 million dollars of federal transportation funds and required the state to take only about 400 square feet of right of way at the intersection.
By comparison, building a rotary at this intersection would have cost $2.4 million and would have required the state to take 5,400 square feet of land from four different residential parcels.
Left turns from Route 1 have a green arrow, and there are “no turn on red” restrictions from Central and Glen streets to prevent angle crashes. Other improvements include pavement markings and signs. Pedestrians have striped crosswalks and walk-only signals with all traffic stopped.
Sidewalks were constructed along the south side of Central Street and both sides of Glen Street to the nearest driveways. Bicyclists have 6-foot-wide shoulders along Route 1, and a bicycle detection system will be at all approaches to the traffic signal.