Re: Intersection of MA 2 and Mt. Elam Road, in Fitchburg, MA
mitsguy2001
news:o4nom01jisq3n46cq...@4ax.com...
> On 12 Oct 2004 15:07:05 -0700, mitsg...@aol.com (mitsguy2001)
> wrote:
>
>>I drove through the intersection of MA 2 and Mt. Elam Road over the
>>weekend. I've read in this newsgroup before that that intersection is
>>weird. And, the Expressway site says that you can "in theory" see a
>>red light on MA 2 at that intersection. Anyway, on MA 2 WB, the light
>>was flashing yellow. On MA 2 EB, the light was green. Why was it
>>done that way? From reading this group, I get the impression that the
>>flashing yellow light on MA 2 WB is always flashing yellow, but the
>>green light on MA 2 EB can in theory turn red. How exactly does that
>>work? Why was it designed that way?
>
> HI,
> As a resident of Fitchbrug- I am well familiar with this area. About
> 10 years ago- maybe slightly less(doesn't really matter)- there was a
> full intersection there with active traffic controlled (from the
> sides) working stop lights. You will also have noticed the guardrail
> going across Mt Elam with Rt 2.
>
> You used to be able to take Mt Elam from Fitchburg center out to Rt 2
> and head Eastbound, or straight across to the few houses on the south
> side on Mt Elam(almost in Leominster). There were waaayyy too many
> accidents there, and further on down at Rt 31(it also used to be a 4
> way stop light intersection).
>
> Anyway- the state put in the flexible piping across the median on Rt 2
> at Mt Elam. The flexible piping was a concession to the folks on the
> south side for emergency service. It is a dead end on the other side,
> and any Fire, Police, or Emergency services would have had to go all
> the way down to Rt 31 and double back. If emergency services were
> needed- they could just go across the median through the flexible
> rubber piping.
>
> They stopped ALL other cross traffic through the intersection, so
> folks coming down Mt Elam from Fitchburg can only go West. That light
> is flashing yellow for caution, as folks are entering to go West. On
> the Eastbound side- the minority of folks living on the south side can
> only head East. Theoritically that light will turn Red for Eastbound
> traffic if someone is sitting at the intersection. I am sure this
> thought had something to do with the greater volume of traffic heading
> East in the morning. Traffic is normally moving East at full speed,
> while traffic heading West is often times slowed coming up the hill
> and around the curve. Sun and trucks are a fair factor in slowing
> folks heading West-especially in the afternoon.
So then, eastbound MA 2 gets a red light whenever a car on northbound Mt.
Elam Road wants to make a right turn onto MA 2? That sounds like it would
be a reasonably common occurrence. Even if that part of Mt. Elam is a dead
end, I assume that the people who live there don't just stay home all day.
Why does everyone say that "in theory" you could get a red light, when it
sounds to me like it's just a normal actuated intersection?
> Chris
Chris
for the actual reason for getting a red light East only- I don't
remember the exact reasoning.
I just wish there was a full grade seperated interchange- especially
with the bridge construction at Merriam Ave and alternating one way
traffic over the open lane.
On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:06:58 GMT, "mitsguy2001" <mitsg...@aol.com>
wrote:
Michael Moroney
>I drove through the intersection of MA 2 and Mt. Elam Road over the
>weekend.
...
>Why was it designed that way?
It wasn't really designed that way, but sort of evolved that way.
As I'm sure you noticed, the Route 2 expressway is very substandard in
that section. There are roads that end at Route 2 at a "T" intersections
(but no crossover of the median) and even a gas station on it. At one
time, Mt. Elam Road was a normal at-grade intersection with a normal
light. They eliminated all other lights on Route 2 between Acton and
Gill, and wanted to grade-separate Mt. Elam Rd (did you notice the exit
numbers go from 28 to 30?) but a reservoir right there prevented that.
So it remained as a traffic light. There were many accidents there,
so they wanted to block the median crossing, but Mt Elam Rd south of the
intersection is a dead-end road and they worried that ambulance response
time would be too long since they'd have to go to Exit 28 (Route 31)
and turn around and come back. They "blocked" the median crossing with
plastic pipes that emergency vehicles could just plow through, but
ordinary drivers also did that and got into more accidents. They finally
(permanently) blocked the median crossing (dunno what was done about
emergency vehicle access) so you can no longer turn left from/to Mt Elam
Rd at all. It is now essentially two independent intersections.
The light remains but was reconfigured. At Route 2 EB/Mt Elam Rd south
of Route 2, it works normally, always green for Route 2 except when a
sensor on Mt Elam Rd is triggered by a car (which can only turn right).
I'm pretty sure it has a delay so a car that turns right-on-red right away
doesn't cycle the light. Westbound it is permanently a blinker. In fact
the signal head facing Mt Elam Rd north of Route 2 was replaced by a
single red blinker head so it can never turn green.
Aside: The reservoir there is called "Notown Reservoir" because there once
was a scrap of land there that wasn't part of any town, until 1837 (when
the state forced the elimination of it and other such scraps of land).
The town line between Fitchburg and Leominster was also redrawn to follow
the Route 2 ROW, Leominster got the part of Fitchburg south of 2 while
Fitchburg got the airport (which juts into Leominster), sometime in the
40s or 50s.
--
-Mike
Paul Anderson
mitsguy2001 <mitsg...@aol.com> wrote:
> So then, eastbound MA 2 gets a red light whenever a car on northbound
> Mt. Elam Road wants to make a right turn onto MA 2? That sounds like
> it would be a reasonably common occurrence.
I have travelled Route 2 past this intersection almost every day for
over six years and could count on one hand the number of times I've
ever seen the light activated.
I wonder if a car entering Route 2 from Mt. Elam Road only triggers the
light if they stay for a period of time. Maybe those who stop at the
light and turn right away don't activate the light.
Paul
--
Paul Anderson
OpenVMS Engineering
Hewlett-Packard Company
Peter Trei
> I drove through the intersection of MA 2 and Mt. Elam Road over the
> weird. And, the Expressway site says that you can "in theory" see a
> red light on MA 2 at that intersection. Anyway, on MA 2 WB, the light
> was flashing yellow. On MA 2 EB, the light was green. Why was it
> done that way? From reading this group, I get the impression that the
> flashing yellow light on MA 2 WB is always flashing yellow, but the
> green light on MA 2 EB can in theory turn red. How exactly does that
When I first moved up here, about 15 years ago, this was a crossing;
you could cross Rt2 at the light. The light activated only if a vehicle
was present trying to cross. There were 'jughandles' so drivers on Rt2
EB could go south, or WB north, safely. MEH Rd south of Rt2 is a
dead end with several houses on it; on the north side it connects to
the rest of Leominster/Fitchburg.
This was dangerous; in both directions the intersection pops up
quickly, and I expect a lot of drivers tried to turn left
off Rt2 without using the jughandles. This required them to
cross the opposing lanes against the light, with predictable
results.
Some time ago the crossing was closed. Initially the closing was
a set of wooden stakes which could be safely crashed through
by a firetruck or police car in an emergency. However, the stakes
were always destroyed by persons unknown within a day or two every
time they were repaired. I suspect it was by MEHR south residents
who wanted to get home without driving an extra 2-3 miles to Rt 31
(and back), and/or MEHR north residents who wanted to keep their
entrance to Rt2 EB.
Eventually they gave up on the stakes, and put the standard
steel barriers in; getting a firetruck to MEHR south now
takes 5-6 minutes longer.
The traffic lights remain; the WB is always blinking yellow.
The EB is green unless a car is waiting at the light. There
is also an active 'red light ahead' warning a 1/4 mile earlier
which turns on when the EB light is being activated. This light
allows drivers from MEHR south to get on RT2 EB safely.
If you drive it, note the skidmarks in front of the light.
Peter
John F. Carr
Michael Moroney <mor...@world.std.spaamtrap.com> wrote:
>As I'm sure you noticed, the Route 2 expressway is very substandard in
>that section. There are roads that end at Route 2 at a "T" intersections
>(but no crossover of the median) and even a gas station on it. At one
>time, Mt. Elam Road was a normal at-grade intersection with a normal
>light. They eliminated all other lights on Route 2 between Acton and
>Gill, and wanted to grade-separate Mt. Elam Rd (did you notice the exit
>numbers go from 28 to 30?) but a reservoir right there prevented that.
>So it remained as a traffic light.
The Route 31 intersection a couple miles west was turned into an
interchange in 1984. Does anybody know the dates for the other former
intersections? When did the current "T" intersections cease to allow
left turns?
--
John Carr (j...@mit.edu)
Chris
Hi John,
To my recollection(I basically grew up here)- and I am 47- I do not
ever remember seeing cars cross at the Abbott Ave T
intersection(westbound just before K-Mart). The Same with Oak Hill Rd
and Palmer Rd(where the junkyard is).
Further west up at Depot Rd/Narrows Rd in Westminster- I got married
in 1983, and that was still crossable at grade. I used to work at the
restaurent that used to be there on the corner(William Austins Tavern)
between 1976 and 1982.
Mt Elam Rd- I used to be able to cross Rt 2 and head East back in the
late 80's(I used to work in Concord and lived 2 miles from there). I
do not recal the exact time they shut down cross traffic.
I would still use that interchange today if it were open.
Chris
John F. Carr
Chris <rei...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Actually it is deeper than Fitchburg Leominster fighting! I
>just remembered that the residents of Mt Elam Rd are/were vehemently
>opposed to a full interchange there. As much as they are
>inconvenienced by having to double back down South St to KMart and
>Merriam Ave- they would rather do that and still maintain a reasonably
>quiet road. They have been successfulin stopping many trucks, and
>traffic does get pretty tough there in the afternoon, folks heading to
>Fitchburg and parts north use that now to avoid the mess at Merriam
>Ave.
Is this the same reason there is a barrier blocking Fifth
Massachusetts Turnpike? It is a through road on my map
but not in reality.
--
John Carr (j...@mit.edu)
mitsguy2001
"John F. Carr" <j...@mit.edu> wrote in message
news:416f13a2$0$573$b45e...@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu...
What / where is Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike? I assume that it has nothing
to do with the Mass Pike (I-90).
>
> --
> John Carr (j...@mit.edu)
Elmer
after a baby sheep that went off and joined the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police.
Arrow
> Actually it is deeper than Fitchburg Leominster fighting! I
> just remembered that the residents of Mt Elam Rd are/were vehemently
> opposed to a full interchange there. As much as they are
> inconvenienced by having to double back down South St to KMart and
> Merriam Ave- they would rather do that and still maintain a reasonably
> quiet road. They have been successfulin stopping many trucks, and
> traffic does get pretty tough there in the afternoon, folks heading to
> Fitchburg and parts north use that now to avoid the mess at Merriam
> Ave.
>
> traffic in the morning as well.
>
>
>
> Chris
> On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 06:01:08 GMT, Arrow <arr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I drove through the intersection of MA 2 and Mt. Elam Road over the
>>>>weekend. I've read in this newsgroup before that that intersection is
>>>>weird. And, the Expressway site says that you can "in theory" see a
>>>>red light on MA 2 at that intersection. Anyway, on MA 2 WB, the light
>>>>was flashing yellow. On MA 2 EB, the light was green. Why was it
>>>>done that way? From reading this group, I get the impression that the
>>>>flashing yellow light on MA 2 WB is always flashing yellow, but the
>>>>green light on MA 2 EB can in theory turn red. How exactly does that
>>>>work? Why was it designed that way?
>>>
>>>
>>>as folks were still cutting through the rubber piping and causing
>>>accidents.
>>>
>>>As for making it a full grade seperated interchange- never in my
>>>lifetime! There is way too much pissing and moaning between Fitchburg
>>>and Leominster to get anything constructive done. On the North side of
>>>that interchange there is a 350 condo unit going up in which
>>>Leominster is trying to stop(in Fitchburg), as they feel it may
>>>pollute Leominster water. The reservoirs of Leominster are on the
>>>south side of the highway- both before and after Mt ELam Rd.
>>>
>>>Fitchburg and Leominster are also fighting about other drainage and
>>>sewerage issues entering a pond, and also about the design and future
>>>of Rt 12 in both Fitchburg and Leominster. That's another story for
>>>another time...
>>>
>>>
>>>Chris
>>
>>I'd think it would be a good idea (the residents may not like it) to
>>just make Mt. Elam Rd. go over or under MA 2 with no intersection at
>>all. If Fitchburg/Leominster ever get their acts together maybe they
>>could make a true interchange in the area a bit further west away from
>>the reservoir (even though that would conflict with the State Forest there).
>
>
Good! If they're opposed to an interchange, then forget the interchange
idea. Just build a bridge over/under MA 2 and take out the interchange
completely. Problem solved!
Except I'd bet the "south" Mt. Elam residents would whine and fight
about their convenient access to MA 2 taken away from them. Everyone
wants what's most convenient for /them/, people who get in accidents at
the intersection be damned.
--
Justin P.
John F. Carr
mitsguy2001 <mitsg...@aol.com> wrote:
>What / where is Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike? I assume that it has nothing
>to do with the Mass Pike (I-90).
The Massachusetts roads named "Turnpike", other than the modern
Massachusetts Turnpike, were 19th century toll roads. Route 2
generally follows the Williamstown, Second Massachusetts,
Fourteenth Massachusetts, Fifth Massachusetts, Union, and
Cambridge and Concord Turnpikes to get from western Massachusetts
to Cambridge. The Concord Turnpike was physically replaced by
Route 2. The Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike continues to exist as
an ordinary street from Fitchburg to Westminster. (Spell the
name "5th" instead of "Fifth" for maps.yahoo.com to find the street.)
See _The Turnpikes of New England_ by Frederic J. Wood,
<http://www.branchlinepress.com/trans_titles.html>.
--
John Carr (j...@mit.edu)
Peter Trei
I dunno - the blockage has clearly been in place for a
very long time, as has the one at the end of the southern
stretch of Mt Elam Hill Road (it used to extend further
south, and join up with other streets).
Note that the stretch of Turnpike Road between Depot Road
(in Westminster) and Rt 31 (in Fitchburg) legally terminates
at the town line. There is a stretch of badly maintained
dirt road extending east from there, running along the
railway tracks to resurface as the 5th MA Turnpike in
Fitchburg.
The dirt stretch apparently belongs to the railway,
and is rumored to be a haven for drug deals. I know
that at some local residents would love to see
it closed.
As others have pointed out, the old Turnpike was the
main E/W road in MA before RT2 was pushed through. It
has a disproportionate number of old, historic houses.
Peter
Matt
found this interesting article:
http://lsb.scu.edu/~dklein/papers/turnpike.html
Chris
I don't know about the Fifth Mass Pike story at all. I do know that it
is not through for maybe a half mile from Rollstone Road to just
before Oak Hill Road.
Chris
Michael Moroney
>> Is this the same reason there is a barrier blocking Fifth
>> Massachusetts Turnpike? It is a through road on my map
>> but not in reality.
>What / where is Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike? I assume that it has nothing
>to do with the Mass Pike (I-90).
From the late 1700s to the mid or late 1800s the states chartered
turnpikes, which were toll roads usually with improved surfaces, with
tollhouses often located at bridges or other strategic parts where
avoiding them would be difficult, not unlike modern barrier toll
turnpikes. Most had names but some had numbers and the state name.
"Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike" would be one of them.
The turnpikes were largely driven out of business as railroads started
to get the long distance freight and passenger business. They reverted
to being normal roads. Many if not most became fairly important roads
including state or US-numbered routs, but some sections are local streets
or even abandoned entirely. Just about any road named Foo Turnpike or
Turnpike Road was one of these at one time.
They often liked to build them as straight as possible. Trace out
the path of Middlesex Turnpike sometime. Parts are a busy road,
parts a minor street or abandoned entirely, but overall nice and straight.
Most of these streets are still called Middlesex Turnpike but some are
Turnpike Road. Turnpike Road disappears at Billerica Rd/Rte 129 in
Chelmsford, but its path goes through the Exit 34 interchange of I-495,
appears as a 4-5 block local street (Old Middlesex Turnpike), before
vanishing again, the path goes through the Drum Hill No-Longer-A-Rotary
at US 3 Exit 32, where North Road follows its path.
One road built as one of these "turnpikes" and still has a toll is
the road up Mount Washington in New Hampshire.
Somewhere on MA 2 nearish the MA 112 weirdness is a historical sign
marking a "Shunpike". A shunpike was a road off a turnpike used to
avoud the toll on a turnpike.
--
-Mike
Chris
Fifth Mass Pike is right off the Mt Elam Road exit heading West on 2.
If you went straight ahead instead of taking a right on Mt Elam- it is
a very bumpy pothole riddled stretch of road that carries you over to
Rollstone Rd.
Rollstone is where the 300 something condo development is being built
by Peter Bovenzi.
Anyway- Fifth Mass Pike ends at Rollstone, and then picks up again
just shy of Oak Hill Rd. From there it continues past Oak Hill, past
Franklin Rd, and 4 ways at rt 31. It crosses, and then I am not sure
if it continues into Westminster.
If you were to get off 2 at Narrows Rd- and bang a right- you would
again see Fifth Mass Pike. I am not sure itis connected through to
Fitchburg.
Chris
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 01:51:42 GMT, "mitsguy2001" <mitsg...@aol.com>
wrote:
John F. Carr
Elmer <elme...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>Alternatively, if you turn north just before crossing the Indian Head
>Bridge, you can follow the Deerfield River into Vermont. This drive is
>filled with interesting sights including the East portal of the Hoosac
>Tunnel, various hydroelectric projects and the decommissioned nuclear
>power plant in Rowe. The roads (Monroe Road and Tunnel Street) are in
>good condition, have almost no traffic and very spectacular scenery
>along the Deerfield valley. Definitely worth the drive, expecially
>during foliage season.
The road along the west side of the Deerfield River is named River
Road in both towns. Here's a low quality picture of the view from
the road in the rain:
<http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/pictures/Monroe/20041010-5.jpg>.
There was a foot race crossing the road last weekend, a 10 mile(?)
run through the state forest.
--
John Carr (j...@mit.edu)
Arrow
Yes, River Road is one of the most fascinating areas in all of
Massachusetts. From its start you get:
* One of the only 1 lane railroad underpasses I know of in western MA
* The Zoar Gap area, where you can often watch whitewater rafters go
through the Class III rapids
* The "Bridge To Nowhere," aka Tunnel Rd., which serves two homes on the
Rowe side. Going to Rowe and then coming down Tunnel Rd. until it
becomes impassible is a treat too - you can see Bear Swamp looming high
above, some old cellar holes, and an abandoned cemetery
* The Hoosac Tunnel, which deserves a few paragraphs all to itself
* Bear Swamp Hydroelectric, which I'd like to visit some day
* Tiny Monroe Bridge which, if you go through town down to the river,
you can check out the hulking abandoned paper mill
* The best (legal) view of the in-process dismantling of Yankee Rowe
* The abandoned Wilmington tracks on the other side of the river, north
of the Monroe Bridge Dam lake, is a pretty spiff hike I'd like to take
some day
* The "Tower of Power," the massive mix between a building and a water
tower between Monroe and Readsboro, which functions as a mini-Bear Swamp
Oh, yeah, and there's beautiful views and foliage and such. :) My
favorite location for a nice scenic view in the area is the Raycroft
Lookout but it's not exactly easy to get to.
--
Justin P.
Peter Trei
> No-
>Fifth Mass Pike is right off the Mt Elam Road exit heading West on 2.
>If you went straight ahead instead of taking a right on Mt Elam- it is
>a very bumpy pothole riddled stretch of road that carries you over to
>Rollstone Rd.
>
>Rollstone is where the 300 something condo development is being built
>by Peter Bovenzi.
>
>Anyway- Fifth Mass Pike ends at Rollstone, and then picks up again
>just shy of Oak Hill Rd. From there it continues past Oak Hill, past
>Franklin Rd, and 4 ways at rt 31. It crosses, and then I am not sure
>if it continues into Westminster.
>
>If you were to get off 2 at Narrows Rd- and bang a right- you would
>again see Fifth Mass Pike. I am not sure itis connected through to
>Fitchburg.
>
>
See my earlier post - in Westminster, it's known as "Turnpike Road". If
you go east from
Depot, it's well-paved for about 1/2 a mile, then at the town line turns
to a poorly
maintained dirt road which is owned by the railway. It's passable at low
speed. This
runs into the end of 5th Mass Pike in Fitchburg, which crosses 31 as you
describe,
becoming Oak Hill Rd.
Peter
Brian Montaquila
The Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike was a toll road that ran from
Northfied, Ma to the Kendall Tavern in Leominster, Ma.. In fact the
Federal Colonial building is still there and very well maintained.
Its a single family home now and most of Jonas Kendall's property is
now subdivided into very high-end homes.
If you want to get a feel of what the old road looks like I'd suggest
walking the 1/4 mile closed off section between Rollstone Road and Oak
Hill Road in Fitchburg. As mentioned in other threads in this posting
the road is closed by barriers beyond Mt. Elam Road where you follow
the the 5th and have to take a hard right onto Rollstone. I beleive
the house right at that turn is 725 or 765 Fifth Mass. Turnpike. I
started from the other side off of Oak Hill as I found it easier to
park. If you follow the 5thMP across Rte 31 then cross Oak Hill Road
go about 200 yards down you'll see the same barriers.
You can still make out the grade of the road and its very straight for
the most part. Other than the old junk people threw on the side of
the road here and there before it was closed off, it has its appeal
with stone walls on either side for the length of the section. If you
like local history you might find it interesting...I did..
Ron Newman
have preserved access in all directions as well as solving the problem
of left turns onto and off Route 2.
John F. Carr
That would cause a lot of accidents as drivers on Route 2 slowed
from 60 MPH to 20 MPH to navigate the rotary and would fail like
the Concord Rotary during rush hour due to delays and unfairness.
When 99% of traffic is high speed through traffic a rotary is not
a good choice.
--
John Carr (j...@mit.edu)
Ron Newman
cloverleaf ramps for left turns such as what you see at the traffic light on
Route 2 in Lincoln?
Peter Trei
That is precisely what was there in the past. However, because of the
suddeness with which this intersection appears, and the Darwin Award
winning desire of the locals to turn left without bothering with the
jughandles, accidents were too frequent.
Peter
Michael Moroney
>See my earlier post - in Westminster, it's known as "Turnpike Road". If
>you go east from
>Depot, it's well-paved for about 1/2 a mile, then at the town line turns
>to a poorly
>maintained dirt road which is owned by the railway. It's passable at low
>speed. This
>runs into the end of 5th Mass Pike in Fitchburg, which crosses 31 as you
>describe,
>becoming Oak Hill Rd.
You sure it's railroad owned there? The diagram at:
http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/maps/towns/Fitchburg.gif shows it a city street up
to the Westminster border (have to guess but it ends directly above a bend
in Authority Drive, the next road south, and another map shows the city
line just north of there. It's a boundary jog there)
Also interesting that 5th Mass Pike is apparently state-maintained between
Route 2/Mt Elam Rd and Rollstone.
--
-Mike
Trei Family
Michael Moroney wrote:
> Peter Trei <pt...@acm.org> writes:
>
>
>>See my earlier post - in Westminster, it's known as "Turnpike Road". If
>>you go east from
>>Depot, it's well-paved for about 1/2 a mile, then at the town line turns
>>to a poorly
>>maintained dirt road which is owned by the railway.
>
>
> You sure it's railroad owned there? The diagram at:
> http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/maps/towns/Fitchburg.gif shows it a city street up
> to the Westminster border (have to guess but it ends directly above a bend
> in Authority Drive, the next road south, and another map shows the city
> line just north of there. It's a boundary jog there)
>
> Also interesting that 5th Mass Pike is apparently state-maintained between
> Route 2/Mt Elam Rd and Rollstone.
I wouldn't bet my life on the railway ownership, but your
map is inaccurate in other places. For one thing, it shows
the road as connecting between Rollstone and Oak Hill. As
has been described in some detail here, a long stretch of
this is blocked off, and has been for a long time (Yahoo
maps, mapquest, and mapblast all show this correctly).
The stretch along the railway tracks is worse maintained
than any city road I've seen - dirt with a very little
gravel, and large potholes which slow you down to a walking
pace. The edge of the road is strewn with the usual trash
dumped by people too dumb or skinflint to use the city
dump, and for several years had the remains of a burnt out
railway car between the road and the rails. At the east end,
I vaguely remember signs to the effect that entry was
restricted. I'll try to check this week.
It seems implausible that Fitchburg would maintain this road
properly for the first 150 yards, and then let it go to
hell for the rest of the way to the town line.
Peter