Holyoke city councilor fighting for traffic improvements following fatal crash

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - A crash in Holyoke between a car and tractor trailer Wednesday morning on Route 202 has claimed a life.

Now, one Holyoke city councilor has a suggestion for traffic improvements to keep residents safe.

Route 202 is now open, but Wednesday morning, it was closed off to traffic for hours.

Holyoke Police told us that, according to eyewitnesses, the car involved crossed over into the other lane and into the path of a tractor trailer, leading to the crash. It happened around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Western Mass News spoke with one Holyoke city councilor who has advocated for traffic improvements to Route 202, one of them being the repavement of some of the traffic lines.

“There’s an area of the road where one lane is blocked off, prohibiting traffic and only one lane is the traffic lane coming up the hill,” Ward 5 City Councilor Linda Vacon told us. “However, the lines are so faded that people have begun to use the right lane as a travel lane.”

Councilor Vacon has also been working on getting a signalized traffic light along Route 202.

“I have been working to get a signalized traffic light at the top of Apremont and 202,” she said. “The analysis that was done showed that this particular intersection is the most dangerous intersection that does not have a signal in the city.”

Holyoke Police are investigating this fatal crash along with the State Police Traffic Reconstruction Team.

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