Wider, faster, straighter roads? NOT! Back in the early 2000s, the Town of Amherst Mass noticed that one of the intersections in town was becoming a safety hazard with increased traffic and increased amounts of crashes. Since it was a state-owned section of road, they contacted the Massachusetts Highway Department [MHD] to see what could be done. MHD came forward with a plan for a new intersection that was wider, straighter and faster. The type of plan that gets a 'green light' from the Federal Highway Administration--an obscure but powerful agency the lurks in the background of every transportation project.  Sort of like the Wizard of Oz--behind the curtain. Interestingly--and shockingly to both the Feds and the state agency, the town rejected their plan and instead brought forward their own.  Here's a couple of newspaper stories that tell a bit about the project and how hard it was to get the state to let go of the road--and their way of improving it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Installation of Rte. 116 traffic signal gridlocked  By TOM MARSHALL Staff Writer Daily Hampshire Gazette [ Originally published on: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 ] AMHERST - Officials are still waiting for a green light from the state to take over a troubled intersection, nearly a year after making the request. And while there's no apparent dispute on the need for a traffic signal on Route 116 at Pomeroy Lane, there won't be one until the state sends the town a piece of paper. ''My highest priority right now is to get the lights in, even on a temporary basis,'' said Select Board Chairman Carl Seppala. ''That's probably our highest priority intersection right now.'' While accidents have been occurring with regularity in recent years at the South Amherst intersection, the bureaucratic saga began in October 2002, when the town objected to the state's plans for improving the exchange. Those plans included a traffic signal, but they also would have straightened the 40 mph roadway for quicker traffic flow and installed ramps directing wheelchairs diagonally across the intersection. Such features are permissible for a state highway, but town officials said they were inconsistent with the need for pedestrian-friendly access and slower traffic in a village center. In January the Select Board petitioned the state highway department for a discontinuance, agreeing to take responsibility for both the design and upkeep of a section of Route 116 that includes the intersection. The state gave conditional approval to that application last spring, said Guilford Mooring, the town's superintendent of public works. And it's that final condition - a maintenance agreement - that has been doing time on desks at Mass Highways. ''It's been moving around,'' Mooring said Tuesday. ''Things are moving. The new highway director (for the region) is pushing this forward as best he can.'' With good weather the town could install temporary traffic lights within 30 days, he said, just as soon as it gets permission from the state. Meanwhile, the fender-benders continue. Police records show there have been at least a dozen accidents at the intersection so far this year. One of them, on Oct. 24, resulted in three injuries. Carol Kaminsky, 69, of 101 Middle St., said she was pulling onto Route 116 from West Pomeroy Lane that night around 10 p.m. ''I got up to the corner, looked left and right and left and right,'' she recalled. ''I didn't see a thing.'' The driver of a black sport utility vehicle, Kelly James, 22, of Natchez, Miss., apparently didn't see her either, Kaminsky said, because the vehicle struck her car near the driver's door without even swerving. Three occupants of that car were transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital that night for the treatment of what police called minor injuries, but Kaminsky said she recently received a letter from an insurance company indicating potential complications. Kaminsky was cited by police for failure to exercise care in starting, but she considers herself lucky, and has been campaiging for a traffic signal ever since. ''It could have been much worse,'' she said. ''To me it's a no-brainer: They need a light.'' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New traffic signals on the way in Amherst  By NICK GRABBE Staff Writer Daily Hampshire Gazette [Originally published on: Wednesday, June 02, 2004] AMHERST - The intersection of West Street and Pomeroy Lane will have traffic signals by the end of the month, said Jason Skeels, the town engineer. The foundations for the signals and the wire conduits were put in last week, he said. When installed, the signals will use tiny cameras to help determine when they change, a technology that's new to Amherst. The intersection has been the site of many traffic accidents over the years. Installation of the signals was delayed when the town rejected the state's plans for the intersection last year. Those plans were designed to move traffic quickly along West Street, which is also Route 116, a state highway. The state planned to retain the 45 mph speed limit, straighten the road, and build sidewalks close to the curb. The Select Board petitioned the state to transfer that section of Route 116 to the town so it could redesign the intersection the way it wants. The traffic signals are the first change, and in the future there could be crosswalks, turning lanes, a reduced speed limit and bicycle lanes, Skeels said. The cost of the signals is $20,000, said Guilford Mooring, the superintendent of public works. When the cameras detect vehicles waiting on Pomeroy Lane, they will cause the lights to turn green. Between 8 and 9 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m., the cameras will have to detect a larger number of vehicles on Pomeroy for the lights to change, Skeels said. If the cameras detect no traffic going through the intersection on West Street for five seconds, the lights will change, he said. If there is no 5-second gap, they will change after a set period of time, he said. The signals will be similar to those at the intersection of Belchertown Road (Route 9) and Gatehouse Road, except there the changes are determined by sensors under the pavement, he said. The camera technology is reliable, and is used in West Springfield, Skeels said. The signals can be reprogrammed, and if the town decides to put turning lanes at the intersection, they would not be disturbed by excavation, he said. Nick Grabbe can be reached at ngrabbe@gazettenet.com.