Published in the August 12, 2015 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Board of Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford and State Senator Tom McGee (D-Lynn) have begun the process of seeing if the Route 1 corridor can be completely overhauled.
In an interview with the Villager, Crawford said he and McGee have looked at an engineering study from 1999 that seeks to revamp the Route 1 corridor from Danvers to Revere. While Crawford said there are currently no plans to overhaul the Route 1 corridor, he said McGee, the current chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, is open to “resurrecting” the study as part of a future transportation plan.
“Senator McGee is aware of this issue and he is open to getting this project looked at again,” said Crawford.
According to Crawford, the 1999 engineering study included a plan to design an off ramp off Route 95/128 that would take motorists behind the Holiday Inn in Peabody.
“This plan would alleviate traffic going into South Lynnfield,” said Crawford.
Crawford said he plans on continuing to discuss the proposed project with McGee, state Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading) and state Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus) in the future.
“This would be a multi-phased project that isn’t currently on anyone’s radar,” said Crawford. “It would be a long-range plan that we have just begun discussing but the problem is funding the project.”
Crawford said he is hopeful the project will get off the ground sooner than later because he said, “The Route 1 corridor ramps are considered to be some of the worst in the country.”
