By Beth David, Editor
Officials from Mass. DOT (Department of Transportation) held a public meeting in Acushnet on 5/6/26. About 30 members of the public and town officials attended to give their opinions about the proposed changes. The basic plan is to make improvements to the roadway, which is a state road now, then turn it over the town.
There was some question as to which entity would pay for which pieces of the $13.5 million project. At the beginning of the slide show it said 80% would be paid for with Federal Aid, and 20% would be paid for with State Aid, but during the course of the presentation and discussions, it became clear that the town would carry some costs, a point Selectboard chairperson Kevin Gaspar pointed out. One thing not covered would be land acquisitions.
The overall scope of the project includes widening the road in some spots, construction of continuous sidewalks, a paved shared use path, on street parking, brick sidewalks, adding seven crosswalks (from two to nine), a dedicated left turn lane onto Alden Road, stormwater drainage improvements.
Most people said that improvements to the road may sound like a good idea, but the details made it seem improbable.
Mr. Gaspar noted that the town would get stuck trying to maintain a brick sidewalks, and after hearing that the state would pay for the improvements, “now we are paying for engineering.”
Acushnet Selectboard chairperson, Kevin Gaspar, speaks at the MassDOT meeting on 5/6/26 about proposed changes to South Main Street. Photo by Beth David.
Mr. Gaspar noted that the slides show other towns and Acushnet does not have the space to do the things shown in the slides.
“There’s no way we can do that,” he said.
He also took issue with the plans getting as far as they did without Mass DOT going to the Select Board. They have been working with the Town Planner, and Mr. Gaspar said he remembered one Zoom meeting a long time ago.
He said it is the Selectboard that will “take the heat” so that is where they need to go.
He said they need to have public meetings and get more people involved.
Mr. Gaspar also addressed the possibility of the state taking land to widen the road saying “people are going to lose their minds,” if the state takes two or three feet from their front yards. Some houses on the road are very close to the street.
“I know my residents pretty well and they are not going to be happy when you start taking their land,” said Mr. Gaspar, adding that the road does not only impact the people who live on it, “It impacts the whole town.”
Kevin Smith said PJ Keating has trucks weighing 80,000 to 100,000 pounds using the road that can add up to 100 million pounds per day.
He said it will be like the Autobahn.
No way should the town take over the road, he said, “IT will bankrupt us.”
He also noted that a previous project ended up costing more because there is ledge that had to be blasted.
“That ledge goes all the way to Nantucket,” said Mr. Smith.
“There’s no way to widen that road,” said one woman who owns property on the street. “You’re gong to take part of our land then dump this on the town so we can pay more taxes.”
A couple of people suggested extending Route 240 so PJ Keating trucks could access the highway from the other end of their property.
Speakers also noted that the water and sewer pipes were about 100 year old. Mr. Gaspar said if the cost is on the town for that, then residents on the street may end up with a betterment fee.
Sooner or later, MassDOT will have to go to a Selectboard meeting, said Mr. Gaspar, “And based on what I hear is you are going to get a big fat ‘no.’”
The meeting is available on demand on the town’s YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/2s4caz7hc
The pre-recorded presentation is available on the MassDOT website at https://tinyurl.com/26axmwn8
Email MassDOT directly at MassDOTProjectManagement@dot.state.ma.us and reference Project ile No. 612611 in the subject line.
You may also contact Acushnet Town Planner, Victoria Alfaro, at valfaro@acushnet.ma.us
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