Northampton - I-91 Exit 19 Full Interchange Project

Scope of Work

The proposed project will:

construct a new off-ramp from I-91 NB to Damon Road;
construct a new on-ramp from Damon Road to I-91 NB;
design new signalized intersection and approaches at Damon Road with the preceding on and off-ramps;
modify the existing NB off-ramp making it right-turn-only over the Coolidge Bridge (include modifications to existing signalized intersection);
construct a new SB off-ramp to Rte 9 and a new SB on-ramp from Rte 9 along with a new, coordinated, signalized intersection at the SB ramps; remove old SB on-ramp;
widen I-91 bridges NB and SB over Route 9 and over Rail Trail as (if) needed for exit ramp deceleration lanes. See sketch. The design must take into consideration two adjacent MassHighway projects: #180525 Damon Road Reconstruction including bikepath tunnel (currently at 25% design stage), and #601180 Norwottuck Rail Trail Extension (currently under construction).

The Connecticut River Crossing Study, completed in February 2004, concluded that the key areas of recurring congestion and safety issues in the South Hadley to Sunderland study area are the Route 9 corridor in Hadley, the Coolidge bridge (reconstruction completed in 2005) and the I-91 interchange 19/Damon Road intersection in Northampton. Approximately 34,900 vehicles per day cross the Coolidge Bridge over the Connecticut River between Hadley and Northampton and the traffic volume is expected to grow by 24% by 2025. Since interchange 19 is now a partial interchange (NB-off and SB-on only) the study recommendations included a concept (#15) to make this interchange fully directional while addressing capacity deficiencies at the Damon Road intersections with Rte 9 to the south and with Rtes 5&10 to the north. This project incorporates the concept 15 recommendations.

The Study Advisory Group for the Connecticut River Crossing Transportation Study was reconvened in a public input meeting conducted by MassHighway on May 8, 2007, at Bridge Street School in Northampton. The meeting included a presentation (PDF or PowerPoint) summarizing the development of the Transportation Study with an overview of all of the Study's recommendations. Representatives of MassHighway received input from community members on developing a framework for public participation in the Project Development phase of the I-91 Exit 19 Interchange Project.