Busy New Bedford Intersection About to Get a Facelift

If the road construction on King's Highway and Tarkiln Hill Road seems never-ending, just wait, because it isn't over yet. A key intersection in that area is about to get a new look.

New Bedford Public Information Officer Michael Lawrence said the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) says the construction project will include "the addition of left-turn lanes in each direction on Tarkiln Hill," which will require widening the street.

"In order to widen Tarkiln Hill and accommodate these turn lanes, part of the land used for the Polish American Veterans Memorial will become part of the Tarkiln Hill roadway, and in return, part of the Park Avenue roadway will be used for the Veterans Memorial," Lawrence said. "The square footage of the Veterans Memorial will remain the same with no reduction."

Get our free mobile app

You may recall, I recently wrote an article, "New Bedford's Park Avenue Appears to Be Shrinking." Well, now we know why that is.

"Park Avenue's one-way approach to Church Street will be constructed to encourage vehicles to only turn right from Park onto Church as the intersection has demonstrated safety concerns with vehicles trying to drive straight across Church Street and continue on Park Avenue," Lawrence said.

It's not clear when MassDOT plans to begin the reconstruction of the busy intersection or how long it might take to complete. With near non-stop construction on King's Highway and Tarklin Hill Road progressing in an easterly direction, one would assume that work would begin soon.

New traffic lights have already been erected at the intersection.