Politics & Government
Seekonk Selectmen Want to Know Who's Paying to Fix Dangerous Intersection
When it comes to redesigning the intersection near the Old Grist Mill Tavern, should the town or state foot the bill?
In a unanimous decision , the Seekonk Board of Selectmen decided to move forward with providing engineering firm Greenmen-Pedersen Inc. with a written contract to redesign some 360 feet of Route 114A for safety reasons, but there are questions of why Seekonk residents should have to pay for a Massachusetts state road. The area to be redesigned is the dangerous Y interesection of 114A and Arcade Avenue, near the Old Grist Mill Tavern.
Selectman Francis Cavaco was the first to raise the question, asking why the town must spend its Chapter 9 money on project, instead of the state paying.
“Why are we responsible for a state road?” Cavaco asked, adding that the town has already paid for 25 percent of the project. “Especially when it’s one of the most dangerous intersections in Massachusetts.”
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Selectman John Whelan spoke up, seeming to believe that since Arcade Avenue is a Seekonk road, and part of it will be changed with the renovations, Seekonk must “carry part of the burden,” but he said he would like that assumption confirmed by the state.
Vice Chairman William Rice agreed with Whelan. “I’d like to have the state definitively say, ‘You’re responsible for X percent,’ ” he said.
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Selectman Robert McLintock then proposed the establishment of a subcommittee to work with the state on this issue, an idea which went over well with the board. Chairman David Parker moved to approve this subcommittee, and the rest of the board unanimously agreed.
McLintock said this issue goes further than just the redesign of Route 114A, and it is “more of a political issue than a construction issue.” He said that since Massachusetts funneled some $14 billion into Boston’s Big Dig, they need to remember the smaller towns, and not expect everyone to pay for their roads.
“Politically, we need to make a statement to them,” McLintock said. “It’s your road and you want us to use the money we earned with Chapter 9 to improve something” that could be used elsewhere throughout the town.
