Legislators Push for Merrimack College Road Safety Plan

State legislators representing North Andover are pushing to make the intersection of Route 114 and Route 125 safer.

State Reps. Jim Lyons and Diana DiZoglio, along with State Sens. Bruce Tarr and Kathleen O'Connor Ives met with the North Andover Board of Selectmen Monday night to discuss road safety near Merrimack College.

Legislators have held two meetings, one in which they physically walked the area with town officials, including employees from the Division of Public Works.

"This has been a really collaborative effort of trying to solve what is a complex problem," State Sen. Bruce Tarr said.

Officials identified the major safety issues at the intersections of Route 114, Route 125 and 133. For pedestrians -- including Merrimack College students -- Tarr said that intersection is "a rather tortured path."

That section of Route 114 has seen many accidents, including one in which a Merrimack College student from China was killed while walking along the busy road.

Tarr said officials have spoken with management at Royal Crest Estate for their cooperation, and that management there has come around and started to become involved in the process.

Another meeting took place at Merrimack College, involving legislators, town officials, college leadership, public safety and the DPW, and it was decided that what was needed was an immediate maintenance of traffic near the island in front of Bertucci's as well as a comprehensive effort for the area as a whole.

"And the catalyst for that effort is a roadway safety audit, which involves al the participants looking at traffic data and coming up[ with a plan to address all the issues."

"This project is about three things in my mind -- it's about public safety, it's about expansion of the college campus and atmosphere, and it's about economic development for the area," DiZoglio said.

DiZoglio added that if the campus of Merrimack College had safer, more convenient access to the community, that would enhance economic development in the town.

The Department of Transportation has scheduled their first safety audit of the area for November.