Featured Image courtesy of Google Maps
When I first came aboard to begin my journey in The Berkshires, I was travelling each way for about 3 hours from Eastern Connecticut to arrive at my impending destination in Great Barrington. At first, there was some trepidation in bringing me aboard due to the excessive distance, but I am happy to say that anytime my services were needed, the trek out west was completed and NEVER missed a shift which led me to my current on-air post as I’ve been the midday host for our south county property.
I am happy to say those days are done with and completed since my relocation to Housatonic, but until then the rigors of travelling were still rampant. My trek included a 45 mile excursion on route 57 which was a better alternative to taking The Mass Pike as I enjoy taking the scenic route to experience the slice of Americana this destination had to offer. But there were some setbacks:
For starters, Berkshire and north western Connecticut residents can agree with me on how there are a number of twists and turns with a number of surprises that were in store while taking route 57. I was NOT a fan of the constant hilly terrain especially around the Granville and Tolland areas as my car coasted at high and low levels, even though my control was well maintained due to the fact I drive a vehicle with a manual transmission. Plus, try navigating yourself through winding sharp, hair pin turns and thick, dense fog which was a constant headache particularly during the trek back east.
Jesse Wlodyka
Google Maps
Not to mention that driving on this stretch of road during a snow or ice storm gave me a few extra gray hairs. During inclement weather, route 57 needs to be taken with kid gloves. My point of security finally took place after I joined with route 23 in Monterey when it was a straight, smooth trek to Great Barrington.
The town of Sandisfield really needs to improve it’s infrastructure as I had to dodge a bevy of pot holes that were very challenging in nature and the surprises await after you cross The Clam River Bridge. Sometimes you would not realize that your tires would fall victim to these pesky obstacles which could cost a bundle to correct the problems that were rampant, especially during the winter months.
A suggestion: OBEY posted speed limits as you may think this drive is a trek down easy street, but there are town police cars waiting to stop you for going over the limit and you could be fined for this infraction. In particular, the border between New Marlborough and Monterey is a hot spot. I fell victim to this a few years ago while heading west by going 5 miles above the 30 mile per hour zone, but was lucky just to get a verbal warning and as of then my driving habits changed for the better.
Blank Speed Limit Sign
In closing, I STILL travelled back to eastern Connecticut for about another year when relocating to The Berkshires (Moving is NOT one of my favorite things in life) and endured the headaches of going back and forth as I continued with some side work and prior to when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, this was no longer an option. My travels to that part of The Constitution State have been nullified and put behind me as my focus is on our north western portion of our listening area (Litchfield county) After all, I’m a former resident of Lakeville during my days when I worked in Sharon back in the 1990’s.
In closing, the late, GREAT Michael Conrad said it best when you need to travel on route 57: “BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!”
(Town of Sandisfield sign photo courtesy of John Phelan. Clam River Bridge pic courtesy of ToddC4176)