FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		SEVERAL OPTIONS ON TABLE FOR ROUTE 79-DAVOL ST. AREA The Herald News, Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - Page A2 Fall River — The future of Route 79 and Davol Street are still being studied, but residents had a chance to learn Monday night how the creation of a boulevard might attract development and improve access to the waterfront. Shops, office space, a marina and a restaurant are envisioned for the space, as is the future rail transportation station. Essentially, the plan is to build up the waterfront and possibly demolish or relocate Route 79. Kenneth Fiola Jr., executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, said the next phase of the plan is to see “exactly what type of development is best suited for this area.” Several people attended the presentation of the Route 79/Davol Street Transportation Study at Government Center. Project consultants Laura Castelli and Bill Ashworth of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin of Watertown gave an overview of the alternatives available. One option is to demolish Route 79 and build a four- or six-laned boulevard. This would create about 10 acres of land for development and cost some $45 million. This option would include pedestrian and bicycle paths to the waterfront and improve traffic pattern. A drawback of this plan is that regional traffic would likely need to shift to Route 24. An alternative is to relocate Route 79 farther east. It would free up about 5 acres of land for development and cost about $28 million. An advantage to this plan is that it would maintain regional traffic. However, it would limit connections to the waterfront, and Route 79 would continue to be a barrier between the city and the waterfront. The last option is to take no action at all. “There’s been a disconnect that exists between the city pier and the downtown,” Ashworth said. “The waterfront has been under-utilized.” Residents raised a few concerns, such as the possibility of flooding if Route 79, which may act as a partial barrier, is eliminated. “That’s one thing we need to look at,” Castelli said. How the project would affect transportation to and from Somerset was also an issue. The next phase of the study will be to determine finer aspects of each proposed plan, such as the impact on regional transportation, environmental constraints, economics, site design and coordination with the rail project. For more information, log on to www.vhb.com/route79. Back