According to WCVB-TV, the state budget just passed contains a directive to MassDOT to study adding an interchange in the 30-mile stretch between exits 2 and 3. The report must be delivered to the legislature no later than July 1, 2018.
New England Public Radio speculated on one possible location: the Blandford service plaza, where MassDOT already owns much of the land that would be needed.
An interchange where the service area is would really serve no purpose, seeing it's in a remote area and would probably use Chester Rd. as a dump off point. It would be over a mile to Blandford Center and MA 23, and over 5 miles up to US 20 in Chester. With the smaller footprint required because of AET, an interchange near the US 20/MA 8 junction works the best. It would serve Tanglewood, as well as traffic using MA 8 coming from CT. I also considered one near the US 20/MA 23 junction in Russell, but with it being at the bottom of a steep hill, trucks would have a hard time using it. I hope MassDOT considers it
Blandford would actually be a really good location. It would provide the best central access to the hilltowns via Chester Road or Russell Stage Road, plus good access to points south on Route 8 via Route 23.
An interchange in West Becket is close enough to Lee to not make much difference. The idea of the new interchange is to provide better access for some of the small towns in the eastern Berkshires. Tanglewood is located west of Lee, so any interchange on the 30 mile stretch wont help access to that.
The 20/23 junction is the same issue only on the other end. Close enough to Westfield that it wouldn't really serve the purpose. Also, as you mentioned, the topography in that stretch would make a new interchange really difficult.
Another thing to note for Blandford is that the road from the overpass near the service plaza to Route 23 is already a state-maintained road, and Chester Road headed towards route 20, while town maintained, was recently repaved and is in good shape to handle increased traffic.
The only other location that seems to make sense would be in Otis at Algerie Road. That could connect to Otis Reservoir and points south on MA-8, to US-20 and MA-8 north/Jacob's Pillow area, and to Blandford via North Blandford Rd. But that is a slightly windier road, that may not be as friendly for larger vehicles. The advantage here is it would get the large trucks from the Otis granite quarry onto the highway faster and off the local roads.
I was thinking of having one at the center of Blandford with easy access to MA 23, even though the Pike does not quite intersect MA 23 there. It would be signed as "TO [23]". Given that the service plaza is only about a mile away, if using the service plaza is easier, it works well.
With the pike having gone to AET, and thus allowing for interchanges with smaller footprints, really there are several places that could all be worthy of adding one. I would go as far as to propose adding four of them:
- direct access to US 7
- MA 8/US 20 at West Beckett
- Blandford (putting it at the service plazas is fine)
- US 20 near the Westfield River bridge
Quote from: Duke87 on July 23, 2017, 08:50:53 PM
With the pike having gone to AET, and thus allowing for interchanges with smaller footprints, really there are several places that could all be worthy of adding one. I would go as far as to propose adding four of them:
- direct access to US 7
- MA 8/US 20 at West Beckett
- Blandford (putting it at the service plazas is fine)
- US 20 near the Westfield River bridge
Putting it at the bridge would be unfortunate. The valley there is actually quite scenic.
I have been for putting it near US 20/MA 8/Jacob's Pillow in Beckett for years. Makes the most sense there. Not sure why there is a lean towards Blandford; there is nothing out there.
It is also just a study. Probably won't result in anything anyway since traffic counts out there are so low the expense isn't justified.
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 08:47:59 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on July 23, 2017, 08:50:53 PM
With the pike having gone to AET, and thus allowing for interchanges with smaller footprints, really there are several places that could all be worthy of adding one. I would go as far as to propose adding four of them:
- direct access to US 7
- MA 8/US 20 at West Beckett
- Blandford (putting it at the service plazas is fine)
- US 20 near the Westfield River bridge
Putting it at the bridge would be unfortunate. The valley there is actually quite scenic.
I have been for putting it near US 20/MA 8/Jacob's Pillow in Beckett for years. Makes the most sense there. Not sure why there is a lean towards Blandford; there is nothing out there.
It is also just a study. Probably won't result in anything anyway since traffic counts out there are so low the expense isn't justified.
Putting it at MA 23 would help those going to Hudson NY or Catskill NY.
Quote from: 1 on July 24, 2017, 10:39:35 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 08:47:59 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on July 23, 2017, 08:50:53 PM
With the pike having gone to AET, and thus allowing for interchanges with smaller footprints, really there are several places that could all be worthy of adding one. I would go as far as to propose adding four of them:
- direct access to US 7
- MA 8/US 20 at West Beckett
- Blandford (putting it at the service plazas is fine)
- US 20 near the Westfield River bridge
Putting it at the bridge would be unfortunate. The valley there is actually quite scenic.
I have been for putting it near US 20/MA 8/Jacob's Pillow in Beckett for years. Makes the most sense there. Not sure why there is a lean towards Blandford; there is nothing out there.
It is also just a study. Probably won't result in anything anyway since traffic counts out there are so low the expense isn't justified.
Putting it at MA 23 would help those going to Hudson NY or Catskill NY.
I wonder by how much. Cuts off, what, 15-20 miles, while MA 23 is essentially a curvy back road. The difference would be a matter of minutes at a time when Hudson's flash-in-the-pot allure is wearing off (City folk are realizing the "redevelopment" of a couple of blocks still doesn't change the fact that Hudson's main export is still crack).
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 11:26:53 AM
Quote from: 1 on July 24, 2017, 10:39:35 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 08:47:59 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on July 23, 2017, 08:50:53 PM
With the pike having gone to AET, and thus allowing for interchanges with smaller footprints, really there are several places that could all be worthy of adding one. I would go as far as to propose adding four of them:
- direct access to US 7
- MA 8/US 20 at West Beckett
- Blandford (putting it at the service plazas is fine)
- US 20 near the Westfield River bridge
Putting it at the bridge would be unfortunate. The valley there is actually quite scenic.
I have been for putting it near US 20/MA 8/Jacob's Pillow in Beckett for years. Makes the most sense there. Not sure why there is a lean towards Blandford; there is nothing out there.
It is also just a study. Probably won't result in anything anyway since traffic counts out there are so low the expense isn't justified.
Putting it at MA 23 would help those going to Hudson NY or Catskill NY.
I wonder by how much. Cuts off, what, 15-20 miles, while MA 23 is essentially a curvy back road. The difference would be a matter of minutes at a time when Hudson's flash-in-the-pot allure is wearing off (City folk are realizing the "redevelopment" of a couple of blocks still doesn't change the fact that Hudson's main export is still crack).
I would just stay on and get off at B1 and go down US 9 to get to Hudson or Catskill. Plus, MA 23 has a bottleneck through downtown Great Barrington. I'm sorry, I just don't see any purpose for an exit at MA 23 other than for the people of Blandford and Chester unless you somehow built an extension of MA 189 from Granville. An exit near the MA 8/US 20 junction would serve so much more; someone who uses MA 8 to US 20 to get to the Albany area would be better served to continue on to Lee rather than backtrack on MA 23 East from Otis to Blandford
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 24, 2017, 01:04:02 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 11:26:53 AM
Quote from: 1 on July 24, 2017, 10:39:35 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 08:47:59 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on July 23, 2017, 08:50:53 PM
With the pike having gone to AET, and thus allowing for interchanges with smaller footprints, really there are several places that could all be worthy of adding one. I would go as far as to propose adding four of them:
- direct access to US 7
- MA 8/US 20 at West Beckett
- Blandford (putting it at the service plazas is fine)
- US 20 near the Westfield River bridge
Putting it at the bridge would be unfortunate. The valley there is actually quite scenic.
I have been for putting it near US 20/MA 8/Jacob's Pillow in Beckett for years. Makes the most sense there. Not sure why there is a lean towards Blandford; there is nothing out there.
It is also just a study. Probably won't result in anything anyway since traffic counts out there are so low the expense isn't justified.
Putting it at MA 23 would help those going to Hudson NY or Catskill NY.
I wonder by how much. Cuts off, what, 15-20 miles, while MA 23 is essentially a curvy back road. The difference would be a matter of minutes at a time when Hudson's flash-in-the-pot allure is wearing off (City folk are realizing the "redevelopment" of a couple of blocks still doesn't change the fact that Hudson's main export is still crack).
I would just stay on and get off at B1 and go down US 9 to get to Hudson or Catskill. Plus, MA 23 has a bottleneck through downtown Great Barrington. I'm sorry, I just don't see any purpose for an exit at MA 23 other than for the people of Blandford and Chester unless you somehow built an extension of MA 189 from Granville. An exit near the MA 8/US 20 junction would serve so much more; someone who uses MA 8 to US 20 to get to the Albany area would be better served to continue on to Lee rather than backtrack on MA 23 East from Otis to Blandford
That's what I'm thinking: MA 8/US 20 in Becket have to be used more than MA 23 in Blandford. Not saying there's a huge amount of traffic at either location, but the Becket location would seem to serve a lot more traffic heading to the Berkshires and from more directions than just east.
US 20/MA 8 in Becket would help people getting to the CT 8 expressway, as well as the central Berkshires. Where MA 23 crosses the Pike would get traffic from the western part of Westfield and US 20 east of MA 112, as that's about a mile from the bridge. Blandford, while easy, wouldn't do a whole heck of a lot.
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 08:47:59 AM
It is also just a study. Probably won't result in anything anyway since traffic counts out there are so low the expense isn't justified.
And let's also not forget that this is New England, which means all the steady habits types come out of the woodwork.
Already I've seen comments from people in Blandford and Otis voicing their opposition to the idea, saying basically "don't go routing more cars through my town to fix Westfield's traffic problem".
Not sure about Otis, but the opposition in Blandford is very much the minority. The Town has been trying to get an interchange built for decades, but the state kept shrugging it off.
Not only will it help take some pressure off the bottleneck of downtown Westfield, but will allow said Blandford and Otis residents to by-pass that mess, saving them hassle.
Quote from: Rothman on July 24, 2017, 08:47:59 AM
I have been for putting it near US 20/MA 8/Jacob's Pillow in Beckett for years. Makes the most sense there. Not sure why there is a lean towards Blandford; there is nothing out there.
Since MSR 8
does function as the principal N-S corridor between I-91/US 5 and US 7, it makes more sense to place an interchange at or near that route's crossing of the Pike. And although the chances of CT extending the CT 8 freeway facility north to the state line are slim & none, there's still a significant amount of traffic that continues along that route. Placing an interchange in proximity to 8 might prompt
some level of enhancement to the corridor from Winsted north to the Pike and/or US 20 -- which is currently a bit of a slow slog (I've used it several times to travel between Bennington -- my unofficial HQ when I'm in New England -- and New Haven, where my GF is originally from -- and where her brother still lives). Certainly wouldn't mind an improved N-S corridor in that neck of the woods!
Traffic in Westfield? Baloney. It is off the beaten path and no one has any real reason to go through it except to attend that cruddy college.
Westfield downtown is a huge traffic bottleneck that can get bad at times. Between the college, the large amount of industrial traffic from the two major industrial parks in town and the Air Reserve base, and all the commute traffic from Exit 3 to the hilltowns on Route 20 and along the Route 10 corridor there is quite a bit of traffic through town. What makes it worse is the fact that there all that traffic has to funnel onto US-202 to cross the river, which means everyone has to go through downtown where the narrow RR underpass forces traffic into 1 lane each way. With all the roads in/through town loaded with traffic lights (though this has been helped a bit by the reconstruction of 202/10 between the river bridge and the Turnpike, it can be slow going. The westbound offramp at exit 3 often backs up onto the turnpike, with the line stretching back to the state police barracks.
Quote from: Beeper1 on July 25, 2017, 08:14:27 PM
Westfield downtown is a huge traffic bottleneck that can get bad at times. Between the college, the large amount of industrial traffic from the two major industrial parks in town and the Air Reserve base, and all the commute traffic from Exit 3 to the hilltowns on Route 20 and along the Route 10 corridor there is quite a bit of traffic through town. What makes it worse is the fact that there all that traffic has to funnel onto US-202 to cross the river, which means everyone has to go through downtown where the narrow RR underpass forces traffic into 1 lane each way. With all the roads in/through town loaded with traffic lights (though this has been helped a bit by the reconstruction of 202/10 between the river bridge and the Turnpike, it can be slow going. The westbound offramp at exit 3 often backs up onto the turnpike, with the line stretching back to the state police barracks.
I concur. I've been through the area a few times during rush hour and, while not horrendous, it's quite bad for a town of that size. Having only 1 through road river crossing between US 20 east of Westfield and Huntington other than the Turnpike doesn't help matters.
Exactly. They could relieve a good amount of traffic by building another bridge somewhere at the west end of town, maybe connecting the end of Pochassic Street near the gravel pit with US 20 near the Russell line.
Quote from: Rothman on July 25, 2017, 07:57:26 PM
Traffic in Westfield? Baloney. It is off the beaten path and no one has any real reason to go through it except to attend that cruddy college.
As an alum of Westfield State, I resemble that remark. ;)
Those hilltowns might get a little busier with an extra exit here or there. Put some basic diamond interchanges at Russel Stage Road, Algerie Road, and call it a day. The backtracking problems are real, especially for emergency services.
Not to mention people who miss exit 2 or 3 no longer having a 60 mile u-turn penalty.
Nobody cares about Westfield. Nobody. :D
Quote from: kefkafloyd on July 25, 2017, 11:55:37 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 25, 2017, 07:57:26 PM
Traffic in Westfield? Baloney. It is off the beaten path and no one has any real reason to go through it except to attend that cruddy college.
As an alum of Westfield State, I resemble that remark. ;)
Went to UMass for grad school. :P :D
Quote from: cl94 on July 25, 2017, 08:20:36 PM
Quote from: Beeper1 on July 25, 2017, 08:14:27 PM
Westfield downtown is a huge traffic bottleneck that can get bad at times. Between the college, the large amount of industrial traffic from the two major industrial parks in town and the Air Reserve base, and all the commute traffic from Exit 3 to the hilltowns on Route 20 and along the Route 10 corridor there is quite a bit of traffic through town. What makes it worse is the fact that there all that traffic has to funnel onto US-202 to cross the river, which means everyone has to go through downtown where the narrow RR underpass forces traffic into 1 lane each way. With all the roads in/through town loaded with traffic lights (though this has been helped a bit by the reconstruction of 202/10 between the river bridge and the Turnpike, it can be slow going. The westbound offramp at exit 3 often backs up onto the turnpike, with the line stretching back to the state police barracks.
I concur. I've been through the area a few times during rush hour and, while not horrendous, it's quite bad for a town of that size. Having only 1 through road river crossing between US 20 east of Westfield and Huntington other than the Turnpike doesn't help matters.
Why the devil would anyone need to go through Westfield, let alone a few times? :D Heck, having grown up in the Pioneer Valley myself, I know generations of people in western MA that have never been to downtown Westfield since it isn't on the way to anywhere and there's really nothing there of regional interest (as opposed to Northampton or Amherst).
Quote from: Rothman on July 26, 2017, 12:03:23 AM
Quote from: cl94 on July 25, 2017, 08:20:36 PM
Quote from: Beeper1 on July 25, 2017, 08:14:27 PM
Westfield downtown is a huge traffic bottleneck that can get bad at times. Between the college, the large amount of industrial traffic from the two major industrial parks in town and the Air Reserve base, and all the commute traffic from Exit 3 to the hilltowns on Route 20 and along the Route 10 corridor there is quite a bit of traffic through town. What makes it worse is the fact that there all that traffic has to funnel onto US-202 to cross the river, which means everyone has to go through downtown where the narrow RR underpass forces traffic into 1 lane each way. With all the roads in/through town loaded with traffic lights (though this has been helped a bit by the reconstruction of 202/10 between the river bridge and the Turnpike, it can be slow going. The westbound offramp at exit 3 often backs up onto the turnpike, with the line stretching back to the state police barracks.
I concur. I've been through the area a few times during rush hour and, while not horrendous, it's quite bad for a town of that size. Having only 1 through road river crossing between US 20 east of Westfield and Huntington other than the Turnpike doesn't help matters.
Why the devil would anyone need to go through Westfield, let alone a few times? :D Heck, having grown up in the Pioneer Valley myself, I know generations of people in western MA that have never been to downtown Westfield since it isn't on the way to anywhere and there's really nothing there of regional interest (as opposed to Northampton or Amherst).
Damn son, quit your Westfield bashing. I've been through there and it's a nice New England mountain town with enough going on to warrant consideration for a local exit.
Quote from: Alps on July 26, 2017, 12:16:56 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 26, 2017, 12:03:23 AM
Quote from: cl94 on July 25, 2017, 08:20:36 PM
Quote from: Beeper1 on July 25, 2017, 08:14:27 PM
Westfield downtown is a huge traffic bottleneck that can get bad at times. Between the college, the large amount of industrial traffic from the two major industrial parks in town and the Air Reserve base, and all the commute traffic from Exit 3 to the hilltowns on Route 20 and along the Route 10 corridor there is quite a bit of traffic through town. What makes it worse is the fact that there all that traffic has to funnel onto US-202 to cross the river, which means everyone has to go through downtown where the narrow RR underpass forces traffic into 1 lane each way. With all the roads in/through town loaded with traffic lights (though this has been helped a bit by the reconstruction of 202/10 between the river bridge and the Turnpike, it can be slow going. The westbound offramp at exit 3 often backs up onto the turnpike, with the line stretching back to the state police barracks.
I concur. I've been through the area a few times during rush hour and, while not horrendous, it's quite bad for a town of that size. Having only 1 through road river crossing between US 20 east of Westfield and Huntington other than the Turnpike doesn't help matters.
Why the devil would anyone need to go through Westfield, let alone a few times? :D Heck, having grown up in the Pioneer Valley myself, I know generations of people in western MA that have never been to downtown Westfield since it isn't on the way to anywhere and there's really nothing there of regional interest (as opposed to Northampton or Amherst).
Damn son, quit your Westfield bashing. I've been through there and it's a nice New England mountain town with enough going on to warrant consideration for a local exit.
It already has a local exit at US 202/MA 10.
The Westfield discussion is really a distraction except for being "the place where all the hilltowners have to go to get on the highway." Other people have to backtrack to Lee, which can be just as bad. There's other people that drive through Westfield too, like Connecticut border towns, Southwick, Congamond lakes recreational traffic, but that's neither here nor there with relation to the hilltowns.
The point is to let the people in the hill towns (Russel, Blandford, Otis, Huntington, Chester) get on and off the highway, or let people who miss the exits turn around without taking a 60 mile penalty. These are legit reasons to build an interchange or two, something that the state could certainly afford to do. The interchanges would improve the traffic and QOL for all these communities. Having to get off at Westfield to get to Blandford or Chester easily doubles the time spent driving versus the Turnpike even if there is no traffic, and there almost always is.
Nobody lives in those hilltowns, though, and how do you know what the State can and cannot afford?
Except for the several thousand people who, you know, do. The population of Blandford, Chester, Otis, Becket, Russell, and Huntington is around 10,000. Not counting all the seasonal folks who have lake cabins in Otis and Becket in the summer, and the people heading to Jacob's Pillow or Blandford Ski Area.
Is there a particular reason you seem so determined that this project is a bad idea?
Quote from: Rothman on July 26, 2017, 06:39:41 PM
Nobody lives in those hilltowns, though, and how do you know what the State can and cannot afford?
Between the various towns that border the turnpike from Lee to Westfield there's over ten thousand people just along the turnpike, not counting some other towns that are a little further out, or CT border towns. The state just spent a ton of money on AET and one of the touted benefits, not just for Western Mass but the rest of the state, would be flexibility of adding new interchanges over time (and rebuilding current ones to make them better).
"Nobody" lives in Whately or Hatfield, but they have simple exits on 91. There's other low density towns along freeways in the state that got considerable boosts from having exits. Would Oxford or Webster even have their level of population (20K each) if their access to Worcester and parts east wasn't helped by I-395? Look at Vermont, there's a whole lot of nothin' between Brattleboro and White River Junction, but there's still reasonable levels of exits to serve the towns on both sides of the VT/NH border.
The reasons for adding the interchanges (eliminating the gap, servicing these towns, relieving Westfield) are all together a pretty reasonable argument for adding at least one exit. They're even willing to compromise and get access from the gates at the service plazas. Aiming to close a 30 mile gap inbetween exits isn't a lot for these towns to ask for, especially since they would be paid for with turnpike toll revenue. We'll have to wait for the study to conclude, but I can't imagine adding ramps to already existing overpasses on state owned land and some signs would get into the tens of millions of dollars.
I don't live in the Berkshires anymore, but it would still be a sensible improvement.
Quote from: Beeper1 on July 26, 2017, 07:12:35 PM
Except for the several thousand people who, you know, do. The population of Blandford, Chester, Otis, Becket, Russell, and Huntington is around 10,000. Not counting all the seasonal folks who have lake cabins in Otis and Becket in the summer, and the people heading to Jacob's Pillow or Blandford Ski Area.
Is there a particular reason you seem so determined that this project is a bad idea?
I just don't see the point of the proposed placement at the Blandford Rest Area, that's all. Helping 10,000 people out or somehow helping Westfield out just aren't compelling reasons to me. A location at US 20 / MA 8 would seem to serve a broader section of the traveling public.
The fact of the matter is that I bet MA is strapped for cash just like almost every other state. Local roads in western MA are a shambles, although they are finally undertaking way overdue repairs. Still, it seems that any meaningful amount of state funding (or federal funds funneled through the state) gets sucked to the I-91 viaduct in that dark place we don't like to talk about: Springfield. Still have no idea why they went through that ramp reversal project and it seems to have been under construction off and on ever since.
Anyway, I would think that MA has higher priorities than worrying about 10,000 people in the hilltowns (which run more conservative...) when there are 6.8m other people that need to be served by keeping more necessary infrastructure maintained.
Quote from: Rothman on July 26, 2017, 09:34:26 PM
A location at US 20 / MA 8 would seem to serve a broader section of the traveling public.
I mean, I've been advocating for building both exits in my previous posts on the subject. There's utility to both exits, but if you could only build one and had to build it as cheaply as possible, somewhere in Blandford's the one because it's closest to being equidistant from Lee to Westfield. Either way, with AET the 30 mile gap in itself is untenable and needs to be closed one way or the other.
QuoteAnyway, I would think that MA has higher priorities than worrying about 10,000 people in the hilltowns (which run more conservative...) when there are 6.8m other people that need to be served by keeping more necessary infrastructure maintained.
I won't begrudge those town's requests when it seems more likely to happen than my pet issue (55 MPH speed limit on US 3) being resolved. The state's been on a bit of a road building / improvement spree over the past year and MassDOT's been gloating about all their current and ongoing road improvement projects. If the interchanges are paid for with tolls from the western turnpike, the rest of the state shouldn't have much to complain about.
Quote from: kefkafloyd on July 27, 2017, 08:25:57 AM
If the interchanges are paid for with tolls from the western turnpike, the rest of the state shouldn't have much to complain about.
Western Massachusetts has been complaining about the lack of improvements sans the Springfield nonsense for a while. It would be a great political move to throw them a bone.
I come from Plainville, Conn., but now live in Saratoga Springs, NY. I also have a cousin, whom I am close with in Huntington, Mass. To either destination, a new interchange would make an improvement.
Both the Blanford, and Chester/Becket interchanges have merit. This would best serve my route to Huntington, since my Plainville route avoids the Pike, and 8 altogether. This is because I find 8 to have too many curves, and therefor slow speed limits, between Winsted, and Chester. This is why the preferred route is CT44, US7, MA/NY71, and NY22. All these roads are much better designed, and except for towns, have fairly high speed limits (at least for Conn, and Mass).
I endorse a new Pike interchange at US 20 in Westfield, but where would the runaway truck ramp go? Would it be safe to remove it? Could they build around it?
If MA and CT went up to bad for Interstate funding for CT/MA 8, an interchange with the Pike would probably be the terminus. I don't even know what you would number that. 491? 487?
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on September 03, 2017, 11:33:52 PM
I endorse a new Pike interchange at US 20 in Westfield, but where would the runaway truck ramp go? Would it be safe to remove it? Could they build around it?
If MA and CT went up to bad for Interstate funding for CT/MA 8, an interchange with the Pike would probably be the terminus. I don't even know what you would number that. 491? 487?
Could be either an x84, x90, or x95 since it would connect to those interstates.
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on September 03, 2017, 11:33:52 PM
I endorse a new Pike interchange at US 20 in Westfield, but where would the runaway truck ramp go? Would it be safe to remove it? Could they build around it?
If MA and CT went up to bad for Interstate funding for CT/MA 8, an interchange with the Pike would probably be the terminus. I don't even know what you would number that. 491? 487?
Doesn't matter. CT 8 is so substandard that you would never be able to fix it. All the towns would have to be bypassed.