In the coming weeks there will be work on the Nichols Street intersection. A relocated pole has already been installed and redesign work will follow; this should finish the majority of the work at the intersection of Nichols & Battle Streets and Route 12.
In Leominster, there is still a small amount of drainage and sewer work to be completed.
Much of the same for work on Route 12. Curbs and sidewalks will continue to be installed in the weeks to come. This work will move southward down Route 12, towards the Leominster Gardens Apartment Complex, on one side of the road. It will begin at Spadafore Oil and continue towards Leominster on the other side. Contractors are already placing concrete sidewalks and driveways in both Leominster and Fitchburg. Business owners should expect driveways to be placed one half at a time to allow access. In Leominster, there will be continued drainage work. Road widening of the east side of Rte 12 in the area of Peterborough Oil will move southward. Work in the areas of Nichols and Battles Streets as well as at State Street is currently on hold because of the need for additional design work.
Past Updates:
2007 Updates 2008 Updates
In Leominster, plans call for a significant upgrade and realignment of the intersection between Erdman Way and Route 12. These improvements will require the widening of the road to accommodate better turning lanes into Erdman Way from Route 12. After this intersection heading North into Fitchburg, the plans call for just two 12 foot lanes and 7.5 foot shoulders along with 5.5 foot sidewalks starting at approximately JN Phillips Glass and moving to Route 2 Hyundai. By limiting the project within this section to two-lanes with wide shoulders and sidewalks, the construction can be completed within the existing 50 feet of land owned by the state along Route 12 and without land takings. Because some businesses within this section now utilize publicly owned land for parking, the City and Mass Highway met with most business owners in the Erdman Way Area to evaluate their parking arrangements to minimize the impact.
In Fitchburg, plans call for a significant upgrade and realignment of the intersection between Bemis Road and Route 12. These improvements will require the widening of Route 12 and a section of Bemis Road as well as dramatic changes to the slope of this intersection to make it more level and less dangerous. As you head out of this intersection along Route 12 toward Leominster and starting at about Rayco Motors, the plan calls for just two 12 foot lanes and 7.5 foot shoulders as well as 5.5 foot sidewalks on both sides of the road. As is the case in Leominster, this two-lane proposal can be completed within the existing public way without land takings until Connors Passway..
Benson Street to State Street
This segment covers an approximately half-mile stretch of Route 12 starting at 550 feet before State Street (at Route 2 Hyundai), in Leominster, and continuing North into Fitchburg 550 feet past Benson Street to Connors Passway. The primary improvements called for in Mass Highway's plans for this section include improvements to the lights at State Street and the installation of lights at both Nichols and Battles Streets on the City line and at Benson Street. In this section, the public way needs to be expanded from the current 50 feet to just 59 feet in order to accomodate the three intersection improvements, an 11.5 foot through travel lane and 11.5 foot turning lanes as well as 5.5 foot sidewalks and a 2 foot shoulder. Within this section, there are approximately 35 property owners and 60 parcels that will be impacted by limited land takings and only one building that will need to be removed, in Fitchburg, across from Benson Street.
Below are comments made by Mass Highway District Director Tom Warizula during a public informational session held on Tuesday, April 2, 2002, in Leominster. His comments make it clear that local officials have just two choices regarding the Benson Street to State Street improvements proposed by Mass Highway. The choice is to do nothing or to fix this section of Route 12 the right way.
"Mass Highway has decided that you must have four lanes from State Street to Benson Street if you install lights. You will have traffic jams the distance of two football fields on Route 12 if you put in lights at these intersections without four lanes. This is what is required to be done in the area to be improved. Mass Highway will not fund a project that will not work. We looked at using the railroad tracks, three lanes, and two lanes with wide shoulders. All were discussed at public meetings and they were ruled out."
Tom Waruzila
Mass Highway - District 3 Highway Director