Community
With 3,000 crashes on Route 24 in the last five years, changes are coming
It is known as a dangerous stretch of highway that has begun to bring fear to local drivers, but changes are on the way.
Route 24 has seen approximately 3,000 crashes in the last five years. The stretch that appears to be most dangerous is between Fall River and Taunton.
According to WJAR 10 News, Bristol County has seen over 1,417 crashes from 2016 to 2019 which includes at least eight fatal crashes. Multiple fatalities occurred in November of 2019 alone.
One-dead-in-Route-24-crash-Friday.
Paul Mission, the transportation planning manager for the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District, states that lack of lighting, distracted driving, and an outdated highway are part of the main focus on these crashes and how to improve the roadway.
Some changes are on the way.
A transportation bill by State Representative Carole Fiola will bring resurfacing of Route 24 in the City of Fall River from Route I-195, north to the Fall River / Freetown Town Line which will include resurfacing of the President Avenue Rotary and connecting Route 24 ramps at Exit 5.
In addition to resurfacing, driver safety improvements are proposed at the northbound Route 24 / Route 79 merge and at the northbound Exit 8A ramp to Airport Road. These safety improvements were recommendations from the Road Safety Audit conducted 11/12/18. The safety improvements include advanced signs and updated pavement markings at the Route 24 and Route 79 merge, widening and an increase in length of the deceleration lane for the northbound Airport road off ramp (Exit 8A) including grading and drainage improvements at the ramp. The total budget on the project is $11,000,000.00 and set to begin in the spring of next year.
MassDOT is also working to reconstruct Route 24 at the Route 140 interchange in Taunton, which will include light installation along the freeway and interchange ramps.
What type of impact the changes will make remains to be seen, however, the price of inaction is too high.
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E. Madsen
December 19, 2019 at 8:14 am
The issue isn’t the road, lighting etc… It’s the driving. I’ve been driving RT24 for 25 years
-Distracted: Everyday, all day, makes no difference. Phone is more important to you than your own life. Just crazy.
-Impaired: It doesn’t matter the time, you weed smoking donkeys need to get high on your own time. I’m sick and tired of smelling it. And you don’t care if its 4:30am or 4:30 PM, you just get high and drive…..You white van guys, if the job sucks so bad you have to get high to deal, get a new job
-Driving: Get the hell out of the left lane if you don’t want to travel at the speed of the traffic.… you know who you are, on your phone, 60-65 mph with 1/2 mile of space in front of you
———-Early stopping———- You people that do this, only take up vital space behind you for people to stop, with no warning. This morning, the guy in front of me caused an accident, by slamming on the brakes when he had 20 car lengths in front to slow down, I got my car stopped, but 2 cars back didn’t, only because some donkey over reacted
———-Up hill driving——— Many of you still cant figure out how to press on the accelerator when going up a hill, which leads to traffic congestion, stop and go traffic, and accidents. You can watch day after day on RT 24 southbound just after Rt128 where the traffic is stop and go for nothing, only because there is a hill….it’s sad
———-Merging———— Just let them in, like 25 feet means anything in all of this.
-Games- Oh the games people play…..speeding up so you can’t merge, and you guys driving trucks, mostly pickups, you are absolutely the worst, like if someone gets in front, you have shrinkage….
Staties: How about some tickets for hogging the left lane.
Highway Department: How about some signs reminding people to maintain speed up hill
People: Be kind to one another, move over, let people in, don’t be a dink…..
S. Rounds
December 19, 2019 at 11:57 am
I totally agree with you… It’s SPEED, CELL PHONES SMOKING WEED and TEXTING…. They need to put some State Police out there to issue speeding tickets and tickets for using your phone and operating under the influence. Maybe then there will be some improvement.
Bradford Medeiros
December 19, 2019 at 8:33 pm
Widening the route 24 lanes to 3 lanes going north from route 140 to route 495 and a longer exit lane for the route 24 onto route 140 highway and Jersey Barriers to divide the route 140 exit to stop impatient drivers who wait until they reach the exit to go from the high speed lane onto the exit to cut into the exit traffic. 24 is a major traffic highway to and from Boston and is overdue to have 3 lanes all the way to Fall River. The route 24 Exit 8 ix dangerous especially for those who are exiting route 79 onto route 24 and trying to move over to take exit 8 requiring drivers to have to cut across both the high speed and the travel lane to make the exit. An overpass should be installed from route 79 either onto the exit 8 or across the highway onto Airport Road.
Jan O’Connell
December 21, 2019 at 5:48 pm
E. Madden has written the letter I’ve always wanted to write. I’m an impatient driver, but what angers me most are the people who are inconsiderate of other drivers & those who do not pay attention to what they are doing. They put us all at risk doing any or all of the behaviors listed above. It seems once someone gets his license, all driver training, good sense, & safety practices go out the door! There are no reviews, no refreshers; nothing to keep drivers sharp.
I still have family in Fall River, & recently lost a brother to an accident on Rt. 24 in November. Driving down 24 has always been a scary experience for me; the speed is too fast, the lanes are narrow, the exits come up too fast, & the on-ramps just dump drivers out in front of others going at high speeds. It’s a very dangerous stretch of road & has been for many years. We can’t rely on others to make it better. The only thing we can do is change our behavior & adapt to a dangerous situation. Yes, that means people must think about what they’re doing & behave accordingly, ie., drive for the conditions. That’s the only way we can make driving better & safer for everyone, & it’s something we ALL can do to improve the dangerous conditions on Rt. 24 RIGHT NOW!