FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		RESIDENTS TO GET PEEK AT INTERCHANGE 8B Public hearing is slated for Feb. 11 The Herald News, Monday, February 1, 2010 - Page A1 Fall River - Residents will soon get a birds-eye view of the long-awaited Route 24 Interchange project set to begin this spring. Massachusetts Department of Transportation has scheduled a public hearing for the project, known as Interchange 8B, for Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Freetown Elementary School. The hearing will allow the public to “become fully acquainted” with the project, said MassDOT spokesman Adam Hurtubise. During the hearing, the Highway Division will present design plans and solicit public input. Plans to construct the new interchange between Exits 8 and 9 on Route 24 in Fall River, which came in $37 million less than originally anticipated in October, will begin this spring. The work will not only include a new interchange, but will relocate a segment of South Main Street and create a new street — Executive Park Drive — to connect South Main Street and Riggenbach Road. The new street will also connect the interchange to local roads and provide access to the proposed SouthCoast BioPark. The entire project is expected to take 2½ years to complete, with a target completion date of August 2012. The state’s largest stimulus-funded project, the interchange will be completely paid for by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The interchange will also provide access to South Main Street in Freetown and the Riverfront Business Park. Officials claim the interchange will help create between 8,000 to 11,000 jobs between the two parks. “It’s a very important project for southeastern Massachusetts, and will open up economic development opportunities in both Fall River and Freetown,” said Jim Hadfield, transportation planning manager for the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District. “It will provide direct access to those economic development opportunities.” Jean Fox, chairwoman of the Freetown Board of Selectmen, said it was time so see the long-standing project come to an end. “We have been talking about this for many years, and it's something we completely embrace and appreciate the fact that the ARRA funds helped to make it happen,” Fox said. “We are in (a) development area and we can’t sustain any growth if the infrastructure is not improved.” “We just want to get a look at the final draft to see where everything is going to be. We did have some abutter concerns that have been eased, but everyone would feel better seeing that final draft,” said Freetown Selectman Lawrence Ashley. “I think everyone is looking forward to this. It means a lot to the people in this area as far as jobs go.” Back