ROUTE 79/DAVOL STREET CORRIDOR STUDY
Summary of Working Group (WG) meeting
May 7, 2014 5-6:30 p.m.
Boys & Girls Club of Fall River
803 Bedford Street
Fall River, MA
Ethan Britland, MassDOT Project Manager, welcomed attendees to the eighth and final meeting
of the Working Group (WG) for the Route 79/Davol Street Corridor Study. He thanked the
group for their participation and said that their engagement has been important to the
development of the study. The purpose of the meeting was to review the team’s response to
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) comments including the corresponding
modifications made to alternatives and go over study recommendations. The three alternatives
studied in detail were:
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Alternative 1: Elevated Limited Access/Route 79
Alternative 2: Urban Boulevard
Alternative 3: Boulevard with Frontage Road
Of the three alternatives developed and presented to the public, Alternative 2, creation of
urban boulevard, received overwhelming support.
Specific issues raised by FHWA for further consideration were:
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Reduce the Route 79 cross section in the Urban Boulevard alternative, from 3 to 2-lanes
Eliminate the (South Davol Street) access road (to reduce pavement) while maintaining
access to properties
Assess the impact of climate change (and rising water levels) on the proposed
alternatives
Calculate the value of land funded by the federal government to build Route 79
Eliminate southbound Davol Street, north of President Avenue
Eliminate ramps from Veterans Memorial Bridge and Rte. 79 to South Davol Street
In response to the first two FHWA comments, the study team developed Alternative 2
Modified: Urban Boulevard with 2 through lanes on Route 79 and truncated South Davol Street
access road. In this scenario, access to the parcels would be limited to east/west roads, and
internal connections among parcels. The new access would create “stubs” or short “T” roads on
either end of the cross road connections, not a continuous road along the waterfront as
presently exists. Davol Street south of City Pier would be accessed either from Turner Street or
via a slip ramp from Route 79. The result would create more available land for development. A
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significant amount of on-street parking would be lost under this alternative and would have to
be replaced with parking within the parcels.
In Alternative 2 Modified the Level of Service (LOS) for all intersections would go from C or
better to D, an acceptable level for an urban location, but individual approaches at some
intersections would function at level E or F in peak hours. The net reduction in impervious
surface resulting from the elimination of a through road along the waterfront is a question as
there will still need to be pavement within the parcels, perhaps additional pavement than
currently exists, to provide vehicular access.
A committee member expressed concern about cutting off traffic flow if South Davol Street is
eliminated.
Assessment of the impact of rising sea level on alternatives
The study team presented a map of the area if there was a five foot rise in the existing 100 year
floodplain elevation as a result of climate change. The boundaries of the present floodplain do
not change drastically because of the area’s topography as there is a steep rise in elevation.
Residential areas would not be affected by flooding; the area in front of City Pier would be in
the 100-year flood zone.
A committee member remarked, can you develop in the flood plain? Do you have to build
above? The response, that area would be in the high velocity zone. Development would need to
be 16 ½ above flood zone but could be built to accommodate parking at ground level,
underneath occupied space.
Valuation of land to be re-purposed for private development
An analysis of the value of land that was acquired by the federal government to construct Route
79 was conducted. The range of costs span from $2.8 to $4.5 million
Elimination of Davol Street north of President Avenue
By eliminating the South Davol Street access road north of President Avenue, access from
Brightman Street to waterfront and points south would be lost, minimizing the benefits of reestablishing Brightman Street as a two-way street. Cory St. access would be limited to an
industrial driveway only. In this scenario the U-turn bridge would become inaccessible to
vehicular traffic. The existing two-lane ramp from Veterans Memorial Bridge would merge into
a single lane.
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Draft recommendations
The study team gave an overview of what it must consider when making recommendations.
First, do the recommendations meet the Route 79/Davol Street Corridor Study’s goals?
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Improve mobility and connectivity
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Improve economic development
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Improve quality of life
Second, do the recommendations take into account MassDOT’s and federal policy goals?
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GreenDOT- Projects must demonstrate a positive impact on environment. The proposed
increase in trees, green space and multimodal accommodations respond to GreenDOT
objectives.
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Healthy Transportation Network- Transportation decisions should balance the needs of
all users. Better access for bicyclists and pedestrians and the addition of the South Coast
Rail station will create a healthy transportation network.
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Complete Streets-Is a MassDOT design approach to accommodate all users. The
proposed changes incorporate a shared use path and enhanced access to the proposed
South Coast Rail station.
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Map-21- federal highway comprehensive planning effort
Short-term draft recommendations – all within ROW
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Pavement markings of bike lanes on North and South Davol Streets
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Improvements to President Avenue/North Main Street intersection signal phasing
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Pavement markings at President and Lindsey to improve safety
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Reallocate space on southbound Davol to allow one through lane, bike lane and parking
Mid-term draft recommendations
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Shared use path on southbound Davol Street. This would require further design as it
needs a survey to confirm feasibility
Did you take into account that the bike path is coming north from Braga Bridge? Can it connect?
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Would this configuration be on the west side of Davol Street for the full length? – How far south; all the
way to Braga Bridge?
Lenny Velichansky responded. The bike path will extend the entire length of Davol Street on the west
side to the southern limits of the project where it will tie into the bike path constructed under the Braga
Bridge project. There is no bike access on east side of Davol Street south of Cedar Street and no bike
access is proposed by the I-195/Route 79 interchange project from Central Street to the northern
project limits.
Next steps
The draft final report will be completed within a few weeks and released. There will be a 30-day
review period for comments after which the report will be finalized. Once the final report is
completed, the study would proceed to an 8-step project development process that could take
up to 10 years to complete. If the project was delivered by a design-bid-build procurement
method, construction could start in mid-2018 and would be completed in 2021 at the earliest.
The design-build project delivery could accelerate the start of construction to 2017 with
construction possibly completed in 2020. The Braga Bridge project is expected to be
substantially completed in late 2016.
Additional questions from the Working Group
Is there any chance you could come to a neighborhood meeting? Our group would like to hear this
presentation.
We can consider this.
Is there any access to the old Brightman Bridge?
The design of any alternatives moved forward into project development will consider access to
the Brightman Street Bridge.
Will the u-turn ramp be multi-modal? What about vehicles? Will there be any access to get to
the bridge to fish? Will we need to come via Corey Street?
The design of any alternatives moved forward into project development will consider these
issues.
Will there be vehicular access to the old Brightman Bridge from Pearce Street going north?
No.
Are the T’s (roads) in the Alternative 2 Urban Boulevard Modified dead ends?
No. Under Alternative 2 Modified (two-lane boulevard with T (stubs) and with South Davol Street
truncated) these roadways will provide access to the parcels and adjacent land uses, but will not
continue as through roadways.
Was the FHWA concern about width of the urban boulevard addressed?
Yes and it will be further addressed in design.
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What is the estimate of when Project Initiation will be submitted?
Within 6 months. It can be prepared in a week but it depends on the review process.
How much influence does the federal government have on whether Alternative 2 or Alternative 2
Modified will be selected?
We do not know definitively, but when earmarks are used and if a project exceeds $25 million FHWA will
review and have oversight.
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
In attendance:
Brian Pearson, Fall River Bicycle Committee
Byron Holmes, City of Fall River
Thomas Lowney, Fall River resident
Bill Travers, MassDOT District 5
James Bartley, Lower Highland Neighborhood Association
Larry Pare, Fall River South End Association
State Representative Carole Fiola
Ken Fiola, Fall River Economic Development
Jamie Fosburgh, National Park Service
David Dennis, Fall River City Council
Sandy Dennis, Arts United, Fall River parks advocate
Tony DaSilva, Fall River City Council
Jean Fox, MassDOT
Jim Hoyle, FHWA
Ron Thomas, North End Neighborhood Association
Karen Pearson
Lisa Estrela-Pedro, SRPEDD
Steve Camara, Lower Highland Neighborhood Association
Project Team
Ethan Britland, MassDOT Project Manager
Lenny Velichansky, TranSystems
Teresa Sandell, TranSystems
Jill Barrett, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.
Margaret Collins, Cambridge Economic Research
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