Locals Gear Up for Fight Over Proposed Pike Entrance

STOCKBRIDGE, MA-In this Norman Rockwell town of charming inns and quaint stores, residents are fuming over their state representative’s proposal that the Massachusetts Turnpike build an interchange here. State representative Christopher Hodgkins also represents neighboring Lee, which was tired of being the only access for trucks that needed to get to Pittsfield and other areas north of the Pike.

According to J. Christopher Irsfeld, chairman of the board of selectmen for this town, most residents do not support an interchange exit here. “The Highway Department has tried to do this a few times over the past 50 years,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “The town sits in the middle of Route 7 and once you build an interchange, you bring in more traffic.” Irsfeld notes that a Highway Department study states that with the new interchange traffic on Route 7 will increase by 87%.

Stockbridge is home to a number of well-known venues that attract tourists all year long. Among these are Tanglewood, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Red Lion Inn and Chesterwood. “Stockbridge is the goose that laid the golden egg,” notes Irsfeld. “Our venues are internationally famous. People come here for the town. If you mess up the town, people won’t come.”