Thursday March 29, 2012

WILLIAMSTOWN -- A roughly $430,000 project to rebuild and improve North Hoosac Road from Cole Avenue to Summer Street is set to get under way in the next couple weeks.

Highway Superintendent Scott Park said Wednesday that signs warning motorists of construction have already been installed, and he hopes to begin marking the road next week.

"It's one of our major roads connecting North Adams and Williamstown, and it's falling apart," he said. "Replacing the drainage is going to be the first thing that is done, followed by removing the existing sidewalk and curbing."

Park said once the drainage is in, the road will be graded and milled to a new profile, and then it will be paved. The sidewalk and curbing on the north side of the road will also be replaced.

"We had talked about just trying to mill the road and replace the catch basins, but the profile is gone. We're doing the total reconstruction to get the water to where it's supposed to go," he said.

Park said the total project, which includes engineering and construction, is expected to cost $429,494 and will be paid for using local funds. Of those funds, $25,000 and $271,248 were allocated at town meetings in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Park said voters will be asked to approve an additional $133,246 at town meeting on May 15.

"That is all we'll need to finish the project," he said.

The decision was made to divide the total cost into three parts for

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approval over three years because there were other items the Public Works Department needed in the capital improvement program, he said. These items include the purchase of several trucks and a project to update town water meters.

Construction on North Hoosac Road is expected to be completed by the end of August, weather permitting. All work will be done in-house, which will save the town about 50 percent of what it would have cost had it been contracted out, Park said.

During construction, North Hoosac Road will be closed intermittently to through traffic, and motorists who aren't residents of North Hoosac Road, or its connecting streets, are being advised not to travel the road.

"There will be times where traffic will be detoured onto Cole Avenue and Route 7. Residents of North Hoosac Road will be able to get to their homes," he said.

He said the last time North Hoosac Road had any major work done to it was a paving project well over 20 years ago.