ITEM FILE PHOTO
Lynnfield Town Hall.
BY ADAM SWIFT
LYNNFIELD — An additional lane entering Goodwin Circle westbound from Salem Street could ease traffic for motorists in Lynnfield, Peabody and Lynn.
State representatives from the three communities sent a letter to Paul Stedman, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) District 4 highway director, to request the lane reconfiguration.
“We believe that adding a left lane by narrowing the existing traffic island would allow for an exclusive right hand turning lane,” said Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody), Bradley Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Donald Wong (R-Saugus).
The entrance to the rotary carries traffic primarily from Lynnfield Street in Peabody, as well as additional vehicles from Casco Road in Lynn.
Adding a left lane on Salem Street westbound by narrowing the existing traffic island would allow for an exclusive right-hand turning lane, the letter said. The right lane would direct cars to the ramp for Route 1 North and South, Route 128 North and South, and Route 95 North.
The goal of the lane change is increased traffic flow and a reduction in the bottleneck during the morning rush hour westward along Lynnfield and Salem streets.
“The recent lane adaptions on the eastbound lanes of Salem Street coming from Route 1 have had a tremendously positive impact on the evening traffic flow,” the letter said. “We suggest that a similar reconfiguration on the westbound side would produce the same positive results. This would significantly improve the morning commute.”
Although the representatives have made the request for the rotary work to MassDOT, commuters aren’t likely to see any construction at Goodwin Circle in the near future.
There are no plans for the project other than the letter sent to Stedman, Jones said. As of Friday afternoon, the representatives had not received a response.