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These are the highway ramps getting wrong-way driver detectors
Slated for completion next spring, the program will see detection systems installed at 16 ramps statewide.
Wrong-way driver detectors are coming to several highways in Massachusetts this week as part of a $2.6 million pilot program from the state’s Department of Transportation.
Various lanes and ramps in Bernardston, Burlington, Danvers, Plymouth, and Webster will be closed overnight through Friday as the system is installed, according to MassDOT.
Those include:
- Bernardston: I-91 northbound and southbound, exit 50 at Route 10
- Burlington: I-95 northbound and southbound, exit 50B at Middlesex Turnpike
- Danvers: Route 128 northbound and southbound, exit 43 at Route 62
- Plymouth: Route 3 northbound and southbound, exit 13 at Long Pond Road
- Webster: I-395 northbound and southbound, exit 1 at Route 193
Work will occur nightly from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., MassDOT said.
Slated for completion next spring, the pilot program will see detection systems installed at 16 ramps statewide, according to WHDH.
Other states have installed similar systems to help prevent wrong-way crashes, including Florida and Rhode Island.
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Florida’s wrong-way driving initiative uses radar to detect vehicles heading in the wrong direction, triggering flashing lights to alert the driver. The system also notifies officials and alerts other drivers via electronic message boards along the interstate system.
Rhode Island’s system works in a similar way, notifying the driver who is traveling the wrong way, the police, and other drivers. MassDOT’s Highway Division did not immediately respond to Boston.com’s request for specifics on its system.
Statewide, the rate of fatal wrong-way crashes on divided highways increased by more than double the national rate between 2015 and 2018, according to AAA. Alcohol impairment, older age, and driving without a passenger were three of the biggest factors increasing the risk of wrong-way crashes, the organization said.
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Massachusetts has seen a number of wrong-way drivers in recent months. In Bernardston, a state police trooper stopped a wrong-way driver in June by positioning his cruiser in the other vehicle’s path, according to WWLP. Both drivers were injured in the crash.
In August, a man was killed on I-495 in Hopkinton when his car was struck by a van whose driver was allegedly drunk and heading in the wrong direction.
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