The character of McKeon Road — the once-quiet two-lane stretch ringing athletic fields on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross and bordering the Blackstone River on the way to the Quinsigamond Village neighborhood — has been transformed over the past two years.
Local and commercial traffic is up significantly since McKeon Road now links Route 146 and I-290. In the summer, the roadway is also a designated parking area for Worcester Tornadoes fans who attend baseball games at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus.
The years to come promise even more vehicular traffic, as well as a surge in pedestrians, cyclists, hikers, and others taking advantage of the multitude of recreation and cultural opportunities that the Blackstone River Valley Heritage Park Corridor — among other new projects — will bring to the area.
To address these dramatic changes, Congressionally-approved federal funding in the amount of $750,000 will be directed to make pedestrian and traffic safety improvements, including public sidewalks and lighting. The City of Worcester is the recipient of the funding, and is working in partnership with the College and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in making and maintaining the public infrastructure improvements.
U.S. Representative James McGovern (D-Mass.) (photographed above) announced the funding and the project goals at an event on Friday, Jan. 25 on the Holy Cross campus, also attended by Holy Cross President Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., Worcester City Manager Michael O’Brien, state and local elected officials, representatives from areas businesses and nonprofit organizations, and neighborhood residents.
The funding is part of the omnibus appropriations bill approved by Congress at the end of the year. Rep. McGovern helped secure more than $8 million in federal assistance for parts of central and southeastern Massachusetts.
Rep. McGovern said, “I was pleased to include $750,000 in the Transportation Treasury HUD title of the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Bill for pedestrian safety improvements along McKeon Road. With the reconfiguration of Route 146 and related economic development initiatives in the area, McKeon Road has become a major urban connector through the City of Worcester. The residents of that neighborhood and the Holy Cross community deserve these public safety enhancements.”
“Speaking for the campus community and as a Worcester resident, I am deeply grateful for Rep. McGovern’s efforts on behalf of this project,” said Fr. McFarland. “With the increased use of Route 146 and McKeon Road and the addition of McCarthy Lane—the roadway that connects the McKeon Road entrance with the Hogan and Hart Centers—the entrance is becoming a major gateway onto our campus. In addition, the continued development of the surrounding neighborhood and the growth of recreational, cultural, and academic opportunities for our students and faculty along the Blackstone River make it imperative that we provide a safer and more attractive environment for both pedestrians and vehicles on that side of the campus. We are delighted to be an active partner with the public and private efforts to preserve and improve this area.”
City Manager Michael O’Brien added: “Worcester will undoubtedly benefit from these federally-funded improvements that will connect the vibrant college campus to Quinsigamond Village and the Heritage Park Corridor. It is the kind of investment that will facilitate economic development, and will lead to continued revitalization of our neighborhoods.”
In coordination with the City of Worcester and the Massachusetts Highway Department, preliminary planning and assessment has begun. Specific designs and structural plans will be developed over the course of the coming year.
The federally-funded improvements will also have an impact on other developments in the area, among them:
- Relocation of the Worcester Historical Museum to a new “Worcester Blackstone Visitor Center” in the rehabilitated Washburn-Moen building.
- Construction of a canoe launch in Blackstone Gateway Park next to the Museum & Visitor Center at the foot of McKeon Road where it connects with Blackstone River Road.
- Staging area for cyclists and hikers accessing the Blackstone Bikeway, stretching from Worcester to Narragansett Bay in Providence.
- Worcester Land Trust’s plans to develop hiking trails along the Middle River.
- The growing popularity of the Canadian-American League’s Worcester Tornadoes professional baseball team. Since its inaugural season in 2005, approximately 350,000 fans have attended the professional baseball team’s home games at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, located on the Holy Cross campus.
