October 24, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer
The projected completion date for Derby Street corridor improvements to address ongoing safety and capacity issues is next spring. The project has been underway since 2018.
In the meantime, Hingham Police Traffic Sgt. Jeffrey Kilroy has been keeping up-to-date with the project. "It's on an accelerated schedule," he said. "Construction crews have been working nights [as well as days] to get the paving, striping, and other work done," he said.
Kilroy said the new traffic lights -- which are currently in flashing mode -- are expected to be fully operational by the holidays, when traffic heading to and from the popular Derby Street Shoppes peaks -- according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Working lights are expected to help smooth out the flow of traffic. "The crews are trying to get as much work done now as possible, [depending on the weather], with a targeted full completion date of next spring."
The reconstruction project includes new sidewalks and intersection improvements in addition to the new traffic signals at both the Route 3 north- and southbound expressway ramps.
A main goal is to make the 0.8-mile corridor more pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly. The state is expected to pick up most of the roughly $5 million tab.
Derby Street is classified as an urban minor arterial providing access to Routes 3 and 53 in Hingham and Weymouth. The primary land use along the Derby Street corridor is stand-alone and commercial businesses.
The Town of Hingham has long set a priority on further commercial development in South Hingham to increase the tax base, with the least impacts to residential properties as possible.
As part of a separate project, improvements to the tricky Gardner/Derby/Whiting Street intersection are also underway, with an expected completion date of Fall 2020.