Last modified: Friday, November 6, 2009 2:17 AM EST Seekonk road work may stall BY JOSEPH S. SIEGEL FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE SEEKONK - A major traffic project on Route 152 could be postponed unless selectmen authorize the use of state funds to pay for some of the work. Some $340,000 in local funds allocated by the state for road projects would need to be appropriated to pay for temporary construction easements at the Bakers Corner project. There would also need to be land-takings at a few intersections to make room for a wheelchair ramp. The $3 million project, which is to begin in 2011, will be funded by the state Highway Department. Bakers Corner - the intersection of Newman Avenue and Central Avenue - would be expanded from three to four lanes. Double left turn lanes for traffic going north on Newman Avenue and eastbound on Central Avenue also would be installed. The intersection of Central Avenue and Oak Hill Avenue also would be redesigned to include left and right turn lanes on the westbound approach to accommodate future traffic signals. Five-foot concrete sidewalks with granite curbing and handicapped wheelchair ramps would be on both sides of the roadway. It would be up to the town to acquire land for easements and points of entry. Selectman Dave Parker was concerned about depleting Chapter 90 funds, which he said were needed for other road repairs. The town is due to receive $400,000 in Chapter 90 funds next year. "We don't have to spend anything if we don't have it," Parker told David Cabral, the town's traffic engineer. Public Works Director Robert Lamoreaux said traffic lights at Bakers Corners are antiquated, and that Central Avenue and Newman Avenue are the most heavily traveled roads in the town. If the town were to reject the funds needed to get the project up and running, the wait could be another 10 to 12 years. "We can't afford to wait to do this project," Lamoreaux said.