Revisiting “The Jughandle light”

Selectman Riley gets unanimous support from colleagues in calling for a meeting with local state legislators to address traffic backups caused by the Route 1 light

By Mark E. Vogler

Saugus Selectman Corinne Riley blames the “Jughandle” Route 1 North traffic light in Peabody for contributing to traffic backups throughout Saugus and is urging her colleagues to work with local and state officials in neighboring communities to help alleviate the situation. When Riley broached the issue at Tuesday night’s (March 18) Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the board gave her unanimous support of her request on a smaller scale – to set up an initial meeting with the town’s state legislative delegation to address the issue.

“I think we can start off with a smaller meeting, see what the issues are and make it a bigger meeting,” Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta said.

“We can start the conversation at the local level,” Panetta said.

Based on the vote, selectmen plan to meet with the town’s three elected officials on Beacon Hall – state Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus), State Rep. Jessica Giannino (D-Revere) and state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) as a starting point. Panetta suggested that members of the local state delegation could eventually meet with legislators and local officials in other communities to collaborate on a solution.

The “Jughandle” Route 1 North traffic light in Peabody allows northbound cars to turn around and head south or get onto Route 128. The lights get shut down during peak traffic hours.

“So, I was thinking to the board, if we chose to do so, is that we invite Revere, Malden, Lynnfield, Peabody … mayors, town managers, city council members and selectmen of these cities and towns and the DOT and come in and talk about the problems that that light creates,” Riley said.

“We’re better off working with other communities instead of going it alone,” she said.

“I think it’s something to visit and see what we can do to try to alleviate that light. So I know that individual state representatives that are trying to get something done can’t get anywhere,” she said.

The “jughandle” traffic lights on Route 1 in Peabody slow the journey of tens of thousands of cars travelling through Saugus and nearby communities every day, according to Riley. “This contributes to major afternoon and evening congestion, not only on Route 1, but on many other Saugus roads with drivers cutting through our neighborhoods. Having a 4-mile stretch of Route 1, along with many cut-throughs, Saugus likely suffers from the jughandle a lot more than other nearby towns,” Riley said.

“With more cars on the road, and 1000-plus new apartments in Saugus, and several other viable options to change direction on Route 1, I think that it is time for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to revisit the jughandle light,” she said.

“I’d like to work with the Saugus Board of Selectmen, and our Town Manager, to host a discussion with the leaders of other affected communities, as well as our state representatives, state senators, and the Department of Transportation to explore options for alleviating the backups caused by this light.”