CHAPTER 6 Transportation Resources The Mohawk Trail he Transportation Resources chapter includes a compre Trodden out, in the dim past, hensive inventory of transportation related infrastruc by the feet of the First ture and facilities along the Mohawk Trail including: Americans— Followed by the highway of the road, bridge, public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian, pioneer white man over the Tand railway facilities. The information contained in this chapter was western barrier of gathered from a variety of sources including, the Massachusetts Massachusetts— Highway Department (MHD) road inventory files, the Registry of Paralleled under the mountain Motor Vehicles and data routinely gathered and maintained by the by the greatest tunnel of its time— transportation staff of the BRPC and FRCOG. In addition site as- And now, dedicated to modern sessments were conducted to record data on the aesthetics and char- transportation overland, to acteristics of the road. The information gathered during the site become the finest scenic road assessments included the length of the byway, travel lane width, in New England, completing the northern trunk line shoulders width and surface materials, the existence or lack of side- across the state. walks, type of guardrails, signs, retaining walls, the layout of major —from an article in the North intersections and the location of existing turnoffs. Adams Transcript regarding the Issues regarding the maintenance, safety, historic significance formal Mohawk Trail dedication ceremony held at Whitcomb Sum- and aesthetic character of the transportation facilities along the cor- mit on October 27, 1914. ridor are discussed. The goal of this chapter is to assess the existing transportation facilities, identify concerns and detail needed im- provements. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the is- sues of concern and recommendations for future action to ensure transportation usefulness and safety while at the same time main- taining the scenic beauty of the area. was declared a scenic road when it was History of the opened, which was unusual. The open- Road Development ing occurred at the dawn of the auto- mobile age, and the road formed the The Massachusetts Highway Com- connecting link of the State highway mission’s annual reports documented from Boston to New York and west. the early development of the Mohawk The construction opened up beautiful Trail Scenic Byway. In 1911, the first sections of the Berkshire Hills to auto- legislative bills were filled to construct mobiles, which up to this time were an auto road over Florida (Hoosac) inaccessible due to the steep grades. Mountain between Charlemont and This newest section of the road was North Adams along the Deerfield and 13 miles and was constructed as a the Cold Rivers. The Massachusetts gravel road with wood railings and Highway Commission approved the rock cribs along the slopes. The road road construction in 1912 and it was extended from the Deerfield River in completed at a cost of $368,000 in Charlemont over Whitcomb Summit 1914 (Krim, 2001). in Florida to the base of Hoosac The Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway Mountain in North Adams. The con- was formally opened on October 27, struction included permanent concrete 1914. It was noteworthy because it bridges over the Deerfield and Cold 100 MOHAWK TRAIL SCENIC BYWAY River, and rock cuts through the Cold River Canyon in Florida and Hairpin Inventory of the Turn in North Adams. Road Characteristics The eastern section of the original Mohawk Trail between Charlemont and Conditions and Greenfield followed local roads The Corridor Management Study Area along the Deerfield River Valley. Be- extends 44 miles along Route 2 (the tween 1919 and 1921, this original road Mohawk Trail) from the rotary in was upgraded to a concrete cement Greenfield, located at the intersection of highway over Greenfield Mountain to Route 2 and Interstate 91, to the inter- Shelburne. From 1922 to 1929, further section of Route 7 and Route 2 in improvements were made to the sec- Williamstown. Route 2 is an important tion of the road between Shelburne, travel route, serving as the major East- Charlemont and Florida. The im- West connection in the northern section provements during this time included of Massachusetts, extending from Bos- paving and regrading. The fact that the ton and into New York State. The road road was a State funded highway was serves as a commercial truck route, a lo- unique as many similar scenic roads in cal road, and a scenic recreational route. the Midwest built during this same pe- The majority of Route 2 is a state riod were privately funded. Originally, highway, which is owned and main- the Mohawk Trail was assigned State tained by MHD, but there are two sec- Route Number 7 in 1919, but the tions of Route 2 that are owned and route number was later changed to maintained locally. The 2.4 mile sec- State Route 2 in 1926 to avoid confu- tion of Route 2 in North Adams from sion with U.S. Highway 7 through East Main Street to Notch Road, and Williamstown (Krim, 2001). the 1 mile section in Williamstown Following World War II, the road from Bingham Street to Hemlock was further improved with grade align- Brook (southwest of Field Park and ments and bypass routings that were the project area) are locally owned and also documented in the Massachusetts maintained (see Appendix 6A for the Highway Commission’s engineering Administrative System map). The files. Among these improvements was Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway is also a the reconstruction of the Greenfield part of the National Highway System. Mountain Longview grade (1951), the According to transportation engi- construction of a bypass around neering practices, roads are “function- Shelburne Center (1952), the con- ally classified”. The functional struction of a bypass around Shelburne classification is defined by the road’s Falls (1954), and the replacement of purpose within the entire road net- the original concrete bridges over the work and is based on definitions pro- Deerfield and Cold Rivers (1955). In vided by the American Association of 1966, the roadway grade at the Hairpin State Highway and Transportation Of- Turn in North Adams was improved ficials (AASHTO). Roads are func- and the city expressway over the tionally classified in order to rank their Hoosac River on State Road was con- importance within the entire road net- structed. Interstate 91 (I-91) located at work. The two major considerations in the eastern terminus of this study area classifying highway and street net- was opened in 1963. works functionally are for access and mobility. There are eleven road classifi- cations. These categories are further classified based on whether the road is located in an urban or a rural area. CHAPTER 6: Transportation Resources 101 that links a city to larger towns forming an integrated network of interstate and intercounty service. The section of the byway study area that is located in Shelburne Falls includes Route 2A (South Maple Street, Bridge Street and State Street). These roads are all classi- fied as “rural minor collectors”. Rural minor collectors are defined as those roads that provide service to large towns or areas within the County not served by the arterial system and roads that link these towns or areas with the arterial system. The following section of this chapter summarizes the information gathered on the aesthetic characteristics, overall condition of the road and other related infrastructure. The data is summarized by region for Franklin County and A view of the Byway in Berkshire County. Greenfield from the rotary. Most of the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway (Route 2) within the study area Franklin County is functionally classified as a “rural prin- General information on the road layout cipal arterial”. Rural principal arterials features for the Franklin County sec- are defined as those highways that serve tion of the Byway is summarized in this substantial statewide or interstate section. The MHD Road Inventory File travel. The sections of Route 2 in North database provided details of the travel Adams and Williamstown are classified lane widths, shoulder width, paving as “urban extensions of a rural principal materials, and existence or absence of The Mohawk Trail headed east arterial”. An urban extension of a rural sidewalks. This information was veri- into Greenfield. principal arterial is defined as a road fied and supplemented by aesthetic and 102 MOHAWK TRAIL SCENIC BYWAY TABLE 6.1 Summary of Road Layout Details in Franklin County Shoulder Mileage Description Travel Shoulder Surface Start End Start End Town Width Width Material Comments 0 5.14 Rotary in Little Mohawk Greenfield/ 24 8 paved Greenfield Road Shelburne 5.14 5.54 Little Mohawk Mercy Anderson Road Road Shelburne 24 5 paved 5.54 6.2 Mercy Anderson Cooperlane Road Avenue Shelburne 24 8 paved 6.2 7.42 Cooper Lane 2/3 mile East Road of Maple Street Shelburne 24 5 paved 7.42 9.81 2/3 mile East Buckland/Charlemont Buckland 24 8 paved of Maple Street town line 9.81 10.33 Buckland/Charlemont Just west of Charlemont 24 13 paved town line North River Road 10.33 16.77 Just west of Eastern edge of Charlemont 24 4 soft North River Road Charlemont Village 16.77 17.71 Eastern edge of Western edge of Charlemont 24 2 paved curbs Charlemont Village Charlemont Village 17.71 18.87 Western edge of West of Charlemont 24 4 soft Charlemont Village Legate Hill Road 18.87 19.72 West of West of Tower Road Charlemont 24 4 paved Legate Hill Road 19.72 22.05 West of Tower Road Savoy Charlemont 24 4 soft Sources: Data collected by field survey completed by FRCOG staff and MHD Road Inventory File Year 2001, MHD Department Planning.