Roads and Transportation Dominate Land Use Change

Probably the largest single influence on land use over the last 50 years in Southeastern Massachusetts has been the expansion of high volume expressways that allowed people to live further from their jobs and increased the ease of access to vacation spots and second homes. The number and quality of limited

Southeastern Massachusetts Highways

access roads that were opened in the 1950s in Massachusetts, paralleled in other parts of the country, helped to begin an explosion of vehicular traffic in the region. Roads are, of course, the largest component of the area of impervious surfaces, and have effects upon habitats and wild life that include reducing water quality, habitat fragmentation, serve as barriers to species movement, directly cause habitat loss, cause road kills and road noise and road avoidance by wildlife. Nitrogen deposition from vehicles is significant along roadsides and increases with traffic volume.

Major new highways in the regions include:

Route 128 and the Massachusetts Turnpike
Route 128, the first Boston “beltway”, was opened in Aug. 1951. It was predicted then that traffic would peak at 17,000 vehicles/day around 1970. Currently 200,000 vehicles per day use Route 128. Rte. 128 was largely responsible for the dramatic increase in growth in the western suburbs of Boston. The east to west Massachusetts Turnpike opened in 1957 and connected the state of New York to Route 128.

Route I-495
A second beltway, or circumferential road, Route 495, was the first to enter into southeastern Massachusetts. It was constructed between 1958 and 1982. Traffic along this route has doubled or tripled since construction. Today it's average traffic volume 45,000 to 70,000 vehicles per day. Communities directly affected include Norton, Mansfield, Middleboro, Lakeville etc.

Route 3
Construction of the Rte 3 expressway (a.k.a. Pilgrims Highway) began in 1948 and it opened 2 years later. By the late 1950s this was linked to the S.E. Expressway and led into downtown Boston. Currently traffic in the Plymouth area is about 60,000 vehicles per day. Further north (Duxbury) and closer to Boston, traffic averages about 70,000 vehicles per day.

Route 24
Amvets Highway (a.k.a. the Fall River Expressway) or Route 24 bisects Southeastern Massachusetts and links Route 128 to Route 495 and then to Fall River. It was substantially completed in 1956 and widened to 6 lanes in 1973 and 1974. Traffic volumes here (Brockton) are about 95,000 vehicles per day.

Route I-195
The Construction of this east - west road began in 1958 and was completed in 1974. It was to supplement Rte. 6 that linked Cape Cod to New Bedford and Fall River. It was originally envisioned as the Cape Cod Expressway. Traffic volume ranges form 36,000 to 84,000 vehicles per day with the highest value nearest the RI border towards Providence.

Route 44 (E-W)
This is one of the few east west roads through the center of the region. To date traffic is not particularly heavy however the State is planning and constructing significant upgrades to the highway.

Table 1. Major Highways and Increase in Traffic Volumes over the Last Decade
Route	Location	1990	2000	% Increase
I-95	Rhode Isl. Line	65,250	91,400	40.1%
I-95	I-295	70,550	108,100	53.2%
I-195	Dartmouth	42,800	55,900	30.6%
I-195	New Bedford	32,400	42,800	32.1%
I-195	Rhode Isl. line	58,800	72,600	23.5%
Rte 3	Plymouth	NA	60,000	NA
Rte 24	Freetown	29,800	44,400	48.8%
Rte 44	Brockton	NA	80,000	NA
Rte 44	Carver	8,200	10,700	30.5%
I – 495	I-95	45,000	70,700	57.1%
I – 495	Rochester line	28,800	34,200	18.8%
Rte 25	I-195	28,700	39,400	37.3%
Source: SRPEDD, MASS DOT(http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/trafficc/traffic.htm)

All major highways in the region have experienced traffic volume increases from 20 to 60% over the last decade. The extent to which this is sustainable is unclear.

Table 2. Change in Number of Vehicles for 27 towns in SE Massachusetts

	1990	2002	Increase
Cars	288,700	310,500	8%
Lt. Trucks	57,000	155,300	173%
Heavy Trucks	8,000	13,000	63%
All	353,700	478,900	35%
Source: SRPEDD

Increases in traffic volumes are paralleled by increase in vehicle ownership with the most dramatic upsurge seen in the numbers of light trucks in the region. Table 2 shows the increase over a 12-year period for 27 towns in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Table 3. MBTA Commuter lines into the SE Massachusetts region, daily boardings
Attleboro/Stoughton	16,450
Franklin	15,400
Middleborough/Lakeville	8,450
Plymouth/Kingston	8,350
Total	48,650
Source: MBTA

Total commuter rail via the Mass. Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) going to Boston accommodates about 120,000 passengers per day. Of this, the Southeastern Massachusetts region contributes about 40% of the ridership. This will increase as new rail lines come into service. New rail lines inevitably spur housing development.

New Commuter Rail lines

The Greenbush Line The Greenbush Line is the third branch of the Old Colony commuter rail extension and serves Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate. Construction began in 2003 and service is expected to start in 2006. A $252 million contract was awarded in February 2002. About 3,000 parking spaces are being constructed for this line and it is estimated there will be 8,000 new riders per day.

New Bedford - Fall River Commuter Rail Extension This line is in the planning stages. The project will extend the existing Stoughton Line from Boston to New Bedford and Fall River and will include construction of new track, bridges, grade crossings, and eight new commuter rail stations. It will provide 16 daily roundtrips and serve 4,280 new daily inbound riders. About 6,000 new parking spaces are being built at nine 9 stations. Train service to New Bedford and Fall River should begin by the end of 2005.



	Educating the public about uncontrolled sprawl and rapid development is our best course of action in conserving the natural environment of SE Massachusetts. Population Increases Critical Mass Conservation & Opportunities