Frequently I find myself at the end of Flagg Road where it meets Route 9 West between the Wendy’s and the Exxon station. And just as frequently I find myself waiting. Waiting for a gap in traffic big enough for me to ease gently onto Route 9. And by ease gently I mean pound on the accelerator as hard as I can while glancing in the rear-view mirror to see the car I just cut off invade my rear bumper’s personal space.
It can be a brutal intersection at certain hours of the day, and the proximity to the Route 495 on-ramp doesn’t help matters.
Which is why I read with interest recently that $285,000 in federal funds will be spent planning, engineering, and designing an expanded Route 9/Route 495 interchange.
By all accounts, traffic on the portion of Route 9 leading up to Route 495 is on the rise. At a Planning Board meeting earlier this year, the Metrowest Growth Management Committee told board members that Southborough has the capacity to increase development along Route 9 by a whopping 460%. The Metrowest Daily News reports that by 2030, an estimated 73,000 vehicles will use the interchange, up 25% from today’s level.
And then there’s the proposed 445-acre EMC office complex that’s planned for the Southborough-Westborough line with access roads feeding onto Route 9.
With all that anticipated growth, taking a look at the Route 9/Route 495 area is probably a good idea. I just have to hope they will also consider trouble spots on either side of the interchange, like say, Flagg Road?
You can read more about the expansion project in the Metrowest Daily News and the Worcester Business Journal.
You make an excellent argument against adding the additional traffic. There are vehicles that are also pulling into and out of the gas station. Flagg Rd is a country road with trees that are right up against the edge of the road. Increasing traffic on this road will only cause additional problems