Lakeville select board adopts Route 79/Rhode Island Road layout; abutters raise business, safety and drainage concerns

The Town of Lakeville Select Board voted May 30 to adopt a layout alteration plan for portions of Rhode Island Road, Myricks Street, Precinct Street, LeBaron Boulevard, Johnson Drive, Harrison Avenue and Bedford Street, a change officials said is needed to widen the roadway, add sidewalks and upgrade traffic signals as part of a MassDOT project.

The plans — which the board said represent improvements funded through state and federal sources and include a roughly $20,000,000 construction investment — were the subject of a 9:10 a.m. public hearing before the board ordered the layouts altered as depicted on a plan dated May 9, 2025, prepared by Dawood Engineering Inc.

The hearing drew multiple abutters and residents who told the board the layout as proposed would reduce usable property at several driveways, complicate large-trailer turning maneuvers at Russo’s RV Center, remove a long-standing light pole used for corner and site security and alter drainage patterns near private wells.

Michael Russo, who said he represents the business at 150 Bedford Street (Russo’s RV), said a new turning radius into Route 18 would “cut into that spot” and that the project would remove roughly 30 feet of usable frontage at the corner used to maneuver and park recreational vehicles. Russo said the change would force the business to consider an additional curb cut onto a back parcel he also…