In her first visit to the state’s most dangerous intersection, Acting Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt vowed to Milton residents she will listen to their concerns regarding a proposed roundabout that officials say would make the roadway safer.

Tibbits-Nutt and colleagues from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently met with residents at the intersection of Route 28, or Randolph Avenue, and Chickatawbut Road, a gateway into Blue Hills Reservation.

“We take this very seriously. That’s why I’m down here,” Tibbits-Nutt said. “We want to try to find solutions and not just a long-term solution but figure out how we can partner to see what we can do more immediately.”

Residents have battled the state for years over safety at the intersection characterized by high vehicle speeds, congestion and a lack of safe access for pedestrians and cyclists. They have demanded MassDOT to implement what they say are “short-term improvements,” such as adjusting signal timing or incorporating left-hand turn signals.

But more often than not, their concerns and requests have fallen on deaf ears.

For instance, the state agency and project consultant Howard Stein Hudson completed 75% of the design for the proposed roundabout before finishing a study examining safety-related factors on the Route 28 corridor.

The tide is turning, however. MassDOT has pumped the brakes on further development of the roundabout until the study is done which officials expect should be by June. Construction of the $7.2 million project is slated to begin in the winter of 2024-25.

State Sen. Walter Timilty, D-Milton, called for Tibbits-Nutt to meet with residents, and he said he’s “very hopeful” that things are heading in the right direction.

“I wanted the secretary and her team to listen to what the residents have to say. … They took time to listen, they really did,” Timilty told the Herald. “I am very hopeful going forward that we are going to have solutions that make sense. I can’t emphasize enough though we need them quickly.”

A home rule petition that Timility proposed to lower the speed limit on the road to 25 mph received widespread approval from the Senate and House the past two legislative sessions. However, Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed it, without explaining the reasoning for it before he left office, a decision Timilty called “horrible.”

Between 2018 and 2020, the state reported 62 crashes in the area, four involving fatalities or serious injuries, according to MassDOT’s top crash location map which ranks the intersection as the most dangerous in the state.

The majority of crashes came from vehicles turning left from Route 28 onto Chickatawbut Road and crashing into through traffic, according to a handout officials provided in an October 2022 community meeting.

Resident Mollie Naughton told Tibbits-Nutt she’s not as concerned about the roundabout as she is with the impacts it could have on neighborhood residents along the Route 28 corridor and getting in and out of their homes multiple times a day.

On a recent night, it took 12 minutes for her and her husband to take a left-hand turn out of a nearby side street onto Route 28, Naughton said. The couple also bought their kids a new car that has “more power” to pull out onto the street, she added.

“We are making accommodations, personally. We would love to see you guys make accommodations,” she said. “The impact of the rotary is just going to speed people up even more than they are now. … We need immediate solutions to protect the people in this neighborhood.”

The intersection provides vehicle access between Milton, Randolph, and Quincy and to Interstate-93.

Resident John Rowe said the roadway is a primary route for “disadvantaged people of color from Randolph and Avon” who use MBTA buses and Brockton Area Transit.

“This is a major artery, especially for people of color who travel to Boston and many of them work in the Longwood Medical Area for the hospitals,” he told the Herald. “For the state to do this, it’s a shame. These people have a difficult enough time, and now MassDOT wants to make it more difficult.”

The intersection of Route 28 and Chickatawbut Road in Milton, one of the most dangerous roads in the entire state that has resulted an ongoing point of contention between locals and state officials about safety measures. (Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald)
Acting Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt and Sen. Walter Timilty listen to residents as they visit and speak with residents at the intersection of Route 28 and Chickatawbut Road, one of the most dangerous roads in the entire state. (Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald)
The intersection of Route 28 and Chickatawbut Road in Milton, one of the most dangerous roads in the entire state that has resulted an ongoing point of contention between locals and state officials about safety measures. (Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald)