VINNIN SQUARE RECONSTRUCTION
Salem, Massachusetts
Vinnin Square is a triangular intersection of urban arterials with approximately 60 acres of commercially zoned property near the southern Salem City Line. It serves as a neighborhood center for portions of Salem, Marblehead and Swampscott, and it is considered to be one of the three “gateways” to the city proper. When local businesses raised capital for a planning study of ways to increase the commercial desirability of the Square, C&C Consulting Engineers was engaged to complete the study and assist the City in further funding acquisition for design and construction.
Following acceptance of the preliminary study, our firm assisted the City in obtaining State/Federal TEA-21 funding and went on to prepare a comprehensive traffic and safety study and plans for construction of the recommended improvements.
This project included a state-of-the-art closed loop system of seven traffic signals to assure smooth traffic flow in the future. All signing and pavement markings were also renewed as a part of the project. This project was one of the first in Massachusetts to use traffic loop detectors that were bicycle-sensitive.
During construction, City Councilors raised an issue regarding lane use at one of the intersections undergoing improvement. The balance of through traffic vs. left turners had changed dramatically due to changes in business activity since the beginning of project conceptualization. Our subsequent study of the situation revealed that conversion of one of the through traffic lanes to an exclusive left turn lane would significantly enhance traffic operations and safety, and we successfully argued for a change in the project with the Massachusetts Highway Department.
Construction of the Vinnin Square improvements was completed by the Massachusetts Highway Department in the spring of 2002.
Client: Salem Department of Public Works
