Project Overview

The Crowell Road intersection consists of the junction of Main Street (Route 28), Crowell Road, Queen Anne Road, and Depot Road. The Crowell Road Intersection Improvement Project addresses the intersection itself and its immediate approaches.

In 2003, the Town of Chatham adopted its current comprehensive plan. Among the goals of this plan was to work with MassHighway, now the MassDOT Highway Division, to improve and reconstruct Route 28 in Chatham. Among the locations targeted for improvement was the intersection of Crowell Road with the goals of:

• Enhancing safety for all modes of travel;
• Adding bicycle and pedestrian accommodations;
• Improving drainage;
• Enhancing streetscape; and,
• Rationalizing vehicular acces to abutting properties.

The adoption of the comprehensive plan was followed in 2009-2010 with a conceptualization effort which took a high-level look at possible ways to improve the Crowell Road intersection along the lines noted above. This study led to a project initiation form (PIF) submitted to MassDOT in February of 2013.   Beginning in 2015, the Town of Chatham retained the services of Howard/Stein-Hudson (HSH) to study the Crowell Road intersection in detail and to develop a design for eventual construction. During early coordination to develop the design, HSH obtained detailed traffic counts and survey for the Crowell Road intersection, met with Chatham town staff including police, fire, and department of public works as well as direct abutters.  Through these observations and conversations, as well as comments made at an initial public information meeting in June of 2015, some key themes which have guided the design development emerged.

As it exists today, the Crowell Road intersection:

• Lacks effective bicycle and pedestrian accommodations despite the presence of both walkers and cyclists.
• Experiences significant queuing, particularly when motorists on Route 28 attempt to turn left onto Crowell Road or Queen Anne Road.
• Is confusing to drivers: some signal heads are blocked by trees or other signals in the intersection; others are not clearly aligned with the approach they are supposed to control.
• Has a problematic geometry. The off-set nature of the intersection and its many small traffic islands confuse drivers and direct some into conflict with each other. The islands are also challenging to the speedy passage of Chatham Fire Department vehicles exiting Depot Road. The gentle curvature of the right turn onto Queen Anne Road from Route 28 encourages drivers to speed up while approaching Oyster Pond Furlong.

Moving from Concept to Design

Between 2017 and 2019, HSH has conducted a second public information meeting and appeared before the Chatham Board of Selectmen four times to provide updates and receive comments on and respond to questions about the advancing concept.  As of October, 2019 the Board of Selectmen has directed HSH to develop to a 25% design for the Crowell Road intersection which includes the following elements:

• East and westbound left turn lanes on Main Street (Route 28) to ease congestion.
• New signals to increase visibility to drivers and ensure operation in wet weather.
• Rationalized pedestrian islands to aid in pedestrian crossing, particularly for those of limited mobility, and improve access for the Chatham Fire Department exiting Depot Road.
• Tightens the right turn from Main Street onto Queen Anne Road to lower vehicle speeds as drivers approach the crosswalk at Oyster Pond Furlong and clarify the path of travel.
• Provides bicycle and pedestrian accommodations through a mix of shared-use pathways, sidewalks, and on-street bicycle accommodations to minimize right-of-way impacts while adhering to MassDOT polices.
• Does not impact the driveways of the Chatham Village Market and CVS.

It is currently anticipated that a 25% design submittal will be made to MassDOT in the winter of 2019-20.  This would place the Crowell Road Project in the Fiscal Year 2023 Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) and allow construction to begin in the winter of 2022-23.  To find out more about the TIP, please see the Cape Cod Commission’s web page. 

Public Involvement

Public involvement will continue to play a significant role in the improvement of the Crowell Road intersection.  The next major public input milestones include a Draft 25% MassDOT submittal presentation to the Board of Selectmen and the subsequent MassDOT 25% design public hearing.  The design public hearing includes a public review of design plans, a public presentation of the design to community members, and a comment period administered by MassDOT.  We also invite you to contact our public involvement specialist with a question, comment, or your thoughts about the advancing design. We also encourage you to join our stakeholder database allowing you to receive emails about upcoming meetings. Documentation prepared to support the public involvement effort will be made available through this site's documents page.