Highway vigilance: Police to step up enforcement in I-91 construction zone

Jersey barriers heading south on Interstate 91 above East Street in Easthampton. The work area has been the site of numerous auto accidents this year, including a fatal crash.">

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - State police have vowed to ramp up efforts to enforce speed restrictions in response to a recent increase in accidents at an Interstate 91 construction zone over the East Street Bridge, as highway workers move closer to eliminating split lanes.

In the first six months of 2009, emergency crews responded to 17 accidents at the site, the last of which resulted in a fatality - a statistic that is dramatically higher than the three accidents recorded in all of 2008, according to Lt. John G. Murphy, station commander at Northampton's state police barracks.

The 100-yard work zone between Exits 17 and 18 is marked by a half-mile of signs warning motorists of a 45-mph speed limit. The zone requires motorists on both sides of the highway to navigate through two narrow lanes of concrete Jersey barriers.

To lessen the chance of future accidents, Trooper William Loiselle said, state police will closely monitor motorists approaching the construction site and will remain visible as often as possible to deter speeders.

"We have been ordered by our supervisors to have our patrols on I-91 increase enforcement," Loiselle said. "They have reiterated the importance of conducting traffic enforcement in the construction zone and remaining visible to slow down traffic."

Work on the construction zone began in April 2007, when the state highway department began an $11.3 million project to replace the bridge over East Street with a three-span, steel girder bridge.

Although there has been an uptick in accidents so far this year, Adam Hurtubise, spokesman for MassHighway, said area motorists can expect an easier ride over the bridge in the near future when the third phase of construction begins.

"In terms of the construction itself, we expect work to move faster now because the contractor will be pouring the decks over the next couple of weeks and should be moving to Phase III soon after," Hurtubise said. "The traffic management plan for Phase III does not split the traffic."

Rather than funneling traffic into two narrow corridors around a closed center lane, Hurtubise said, workers will soon shift the two right lanes over and the left lane will be closed. The change, he said, will occur on both sides of the highway and will make traveling through the area much easier.

"Phase III does not involve as much work and we expect it to be completed more quickly. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the contractor hopes to have the major work completed by the end of the year," Hurtubise said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.