Canton Viaduct - Public Safety

Public Safety

The Canton Viaduct is a congested, high volume traffic area with an average of 16,400 motor vehicles passing under the viaduct each day. There are many safety issues with the Canton Viaduct and surrounding area:

• Sidewalks - Neponset St. is an arterial road in Canton and has 4' sidewalks except in the viaduct area. Pedestrian passage under the viaduct has always been a dangerous undertaking due to the confined space under the viaduct. The northbound lane has no sidewalk and the southbound lane has a narrow "safety shelf" (a.k.a. the runway) which is only 2'-6" wide and not intended for pedestrian use. This passage is not ADA compliant. For pedestrians to travel safely from the west side of the viaduct to the east side would require taking a circuitous route approximately 2.3 miles long, that would take the average person about 45 minutes to walk. The direct route under the viaduct is a matter of only 14 feet.

• Crosswalks - A northbound pedestrian must cross Neponset St. to access the safety shelf in the southbound lane; once through the viaduct the pedestrian must cross the electrical substation road, Walpole St. and Neponset St. A southbound pedestrian must cross Walpole St. and the electrical substation road to reach the safety shelf. Many northbound pedestrians increase their risks by jumping into the road and running under the viaduct rather than crossing Neponset St. to reach the safety shelf in the southbound lane. There are no crosswalks in the Canton Viaduct area to facilitate safe pedestrian road crossing.

• Lighting - Neponset St. has sharp (90 degree) curves before and after the viaduct, causing poor forward visibility especially at night due to inadequate street lighting and lack of any viaduct lighting.

• Signage - There are no traffic signs in the area to warn drivers of the sharp curves before and after the viaduct, to slow down when approaching the viaduct, or to watch for pedestrians. The only speed limit sign (30 MPH) in the area is located between Canton Viaduct monument and the waterfall on the northbound lane of Neponset St., where drivers are traveling away from the viaduct. There are also no structure gauge signs to warn drivers with large vehicles of potential collisions with the viaduct.

• Roadway - The speed limit is 30 MPH in this area and the road lanes narrow under the viaduct, leaving little margin for error, especially when slippery road conditions exist. Four roads converge at the Canton Viaduct: Neponset St., Walpole St., Neponset Place and the electrical substation road. There is also a residential driveway adjacent to the viaduct on the east side at the concrete roadway portal and the main entrance to a condominium complex is located on the west side just north of the Neponset St. and Walpole St. convergence (directly across from Canton Viaduct monument), making this area the most complex intersection in town.

• Clearance - The concrete roadway portal was designed for straight-through passage of semi-trailer trucks, but the sharp curves before and after the viaduct require serpentine turning to navigate the portal resulting in truck/viaduct collisions. Over the past 57 years the viaduct has been struck thousands of times causing damage to vehicles and the viaduct at its most vulnerable point. Unsuspecting truck drivers easily pass through the larger portal but on their return trip are faced with tighter turns and a smaller portal. Northbound truck drivers who do not heed the height limitation often get stuck in the smaller portal due to their vehicles' large wall-to-wall turning circle, resulting in major traffic delays while rescue crews extract the wedged vehicle. When trucks get stuck under the viaduct they also block access to Neponset Place, a residential driveway and a business. Some truck drivers avoid the northbound passage by waiting until there is no traffic in the southbound lane, then hastily driving the wrong way through the larger portal, creating a potential hazard to oncoming traffic.

• Resources - Between 1953 and 1999 at least three trucks per day were stuck in the viaduct; after the Neponset St. improvements in 1999 the frequency was reduced to one truck every other day. Over the years these incidents have cost the town millions of dollars for emergency response and caused reduced public safety availability.

A Curb Cuts/Sidewalk Variance was submitted by the town of Canton to the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety's Architectural Access Board in February 2000 requesting the exclusion of a wheelchair ramp and replacement of a paved sidewalk with gravel to actively discourage pedestrian travel under the viaduct. The board's decision was to grant the variance due to potential vehicle/pedestrian conflicts. The wheelchair ramp was not added; however, the paved sidewalk was not replaced with gravel as approved. The board also ordered, and the town agreed, to post signage on both sides of the viaduct indicating the area is dangerous to all pedestrians; this signage was not installed.

The lack of sidewalks, crosswalks, signage and lighting, plus the narrow roadway, limited lines of sight and low clearance makes the Canton Viaduct a dangerous crossing for pedestrians and vehicles.