Massasoit Road Pavement & Complete Streets Improvement Project

At a Glance

• Reconstruction of Massasoit Road between Grafton Street and Sunderland Road to improve roadway conditions, sidewalk conditions, address speeding, parking demand, pedestrian crossings, and provide overall safer accommodation for all users.
• Construction is scheduled to begin June 2026 and will be overseen by the Department of Public Works - Engineering Division.

Corridor Overview

This project is being led by the DPW Engineering Division and the Department of Transportation & Mobility. As an important roadway in the City's transportation network, Massasoit Road is being designed and reconstructed in a complete streets manner to improve safety and access for all users per the City's Complete Streets Policy and informed by our Green Worcester Plan, Mobility Action Plan, Vision Zero Safety Action Plan, and Safe Routes to School program. This will include improved roadway pavement conditions, improved sidewalks, ADA compliance, parking, new crosswalks to meet current and future pedestrian demand, and bike lanes.

Massasoit Road is classified as a Minor Arterial roadway and carries an average of about 8,263 vehicles each day between Grafton Street and Heywood Street and 14,281 vehicles each day between Heywood Street and Sunderland Road. While the speed limit is 25 mph, the observed average speed of vehicles traveling between Grafton Street and Heywood Street is 20 mph and 27 mph between Heywood Street and Sunderland Road. The 85th percentile speed between Grafton Street and Heywood Street is 28 mph and 34 mph between Heywood Street and Sunderland Road, meaning that 15% of traffic is traveling 3 to 9 mph or more over the speed limit. It is important to note that the highest speeds and volumes on the corridor are in the area of the Rice Square Elementary School which has a reduced 20 mph school zone speed limit during school days.

There were 50 crashes reported to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation along this portion of Massasoit Road over the last four full non-Covid impacted calendar years (2022-25). 34 involved property damage only, 6 involved non-fatal injuries, and 9 were unknown. Two of the non-fatal injury crashes involved vulnerable roadway users (1 pedestrian 1 cyclist). This corresponding crash rate is 4.99 crashes per million vehicle miles traveled, which is higher than the Massachusetts statewide average of 2.98 crashes for Minor Arterial roadways.

Project Timeline

• Project Design: Winter 2025
• Project Information Meeting: May 7, 2026
• Construction: Summer 2026

Public Meeting

An informational meeting concerning the planned utility work, pavement restoration, and preliminary complete streets project design is scheduled for May 7, 2026, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Rice Square Elementary School.

• Massasoit Road Plans

Questions or comments about this project may be sent to mobility@worcesterma.gov.