Faunce Corner Road Traffic Relief

Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials are working to improve the intersection where Faunce Corner Road meets Route 6 in North Dartmouth.

Proposed Plan

MassDOT's most recent proposed plan includes moving the Tucker Road traffic light by 100 feet and synchronizing the traffic lights from Faunce Corner Road to Hathaway Road to ease congestion in that area of Route 6. There will also be three traffic lights added where Hathaway Road and Route 6 meet, creating a three-way intersection.

Engineer and traffic specialist working on the project, Bob Clinton, described the proposal of tightening up Tucker Road and Route 6 as a “win-win” because turns onto Tucker Road would be shorter, which would reduce wait time at the traffic light.

This plan also allows an additional 100 feet for cars to wait for a light change on Route 6, which would potentially keep cars from backing up into the Faunce Corner Road intersection, Clinton said.

As a consequence of this design, left turns would no longer be allowed from Champion Terrace onto Route 6.

Meetings

A public hearing was held on March 29 where residents and people who frequently drive in that area expressed their concern with the proposed plan and offered ideas on what could improve the frequent traffic in that area.

On July 17 the same officials presented their plan to the Select Board based on the feedback they received at the March public hearing.

Cost

The plan is estimated to cost $10.5 million. Eighty percent will be paid for with federal money and twenty percent will come from Massachusetts state funding, with no cost to the Town. The project construction won’t start until spring 2025 and is expected to take two and a half years to complete.

Alternative Designs

Previously, Town officials and residents were advised that making a direct connection between Hathaway Road and Tucker Road by forming a four-way intersection was the best solution. However, at the time, the Town did not want to pay for the land needed to make that connection. Many people voiced their support of this plan at the March 29 meeting. However, the price to purchase the parcel of land required has increased significantly since the plan was first proposed.

The MassDOT officials showed at their July 17 meeting that moving Tucker Road would have minor benefits currently (pictured in the graphics below). However, their proposed plan does leave the option to move Tucker Road in the future if traffic demands increase.

Traffic Predictions

The MassDOT plan that does not reroute Tucker Road but does include moving, adding and synchronizing traffic lights. Red is high traffic, yellow is medium and green is no traffic.
Source: MassDOT The traffic map for if Tucker Road were moved to become a four-way intersection. Red is high traffic, yellow is medium and green is no traffic. Source: MassDOT