A four-month overdue engineering study prepared by Boston-based consultants Fay, Spofford & Thorndike Inc. at a cost of $8,000 has placed an estimated price tag of $532,000 on the proposed 2,700-foot extension of University Avenue.
The recommended roadway layout will connect the existing portion of University Avenue with Everett Street just before intersecting Route 1, effectively eliminating American Drive as the current continuation of University Avenue. Consultants noted that the extension will cut through the edge of the town’s Ellis Well Field, prompting recommendations to abandon a large gravel-wall well and several smaller wells. Though the field served as a primary municipal water source prior to tying into the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) water system in 1957—and now serves only emergency needs—engineers suggested conducting formal pumping tests and cost analyses before making a final abandonment decision.
Traffic Projections and Funding Structure
The study projects that traffic volume utilizing the completed extension will necessitate a four-lane, 12-foot-wide configuration—double the width of a standard Chapter 90 county road. The roadway is designed to serve as an industrial bypass for the Route 1-Route 128 interchange, accommodating motorists coming from the nearby Polaroid Corp. plant while providing direct access to Route 128, Route I-95, and Route 1 to increase regional industrial property values.
Regarding construction timelines and financing, developers Cabot, Stride & Forbes Inc. preferred delaying completion until surrounding industrial parcels were fully developed. However, municipal officials anticipate securing state and county financial backing under Chapter 90, wherein the state covers 50 percent of construction costs while the county and town split the remaining balance evenly. Consultants cautioned that construction must be completed within two years to remain eligible for Chapter 90 assistance, pointing out that a connecting stretch of University Avenue in Westwood spanning from Blue Hill Drive to Canton Street has historically never been accepted as a town street.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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