Route 24 South On-Ramp Off Route 44 In Raynham Will Not Be Re-Opening Any Time Soon

Local drivers who were hoping that the Route 24 South on-ramp off Route 44 East in Raynham would be reopened anytime soon better think again.

According to the Taunton Daily Gazette, the ramp, which has been closed to traffic since February 2015, will stay that way at least until the end of next spring.

Drivers traveling eastbound on Route 44, who normally would bear right onto 24 South before crossing the four-lane overpass, has faced the inconvenience of having to travel across Route 24 and up a pronounced incline toward the busy intersection of Route 44 and Orchard Street for nearly a year.

Police Chief for Raynham, James Donovan, stated that it is illegal for drivers to make a left-lane U-turn at Orchard Street, in order to head back down to the westbound Route 44 on-ramp to 24 South.

However, the no U-turn sign keeps on getting run over.

Instead, Donovan recommends drivers to stay to the left and continue east a bit further to the set of lights where LongHorn Steakhouse and Lowe’s are located. By doing so, the U-turn is perfectly legal.

The ramp closure began last February as a $17 million, full-scale rehabilitation of a four-lane bridge on Route 24 that sits .4 miles south of the Exit 13A off-ramp, which brings traffic up a hill toward not just Lowe’s but also Walmart and the Raynham Woods Commerce Park industrial park.

With additional reporting by Sal Lopez