CASEY BERUBE
WESTFIELD – Three streets are being paved during the next phase of the city’s road improvement program this summer, with crews slated to begin that work on West Silver Street tomorrow morning.
The improvements program, which in this phase also includes Court and High Streets, are expected to take several weeks to complete.
Casey Berube of the Department of Public Works, who has been coordinating the project with the city’s paving contractor, Lane Construction, said the road repair will involve several phases, beginning with milling, or grinding down, the current asphalt surface.
“The whole process will take about a month,” Berube said this morning. “The first crew will mill the road surface, starting with West Silver Street. After the milling, there are a lot of structures to modify to the proper height. After the structures are rails, and there are a lot of structures, the road will be paved.”
West Silver Street will be paved from Holcomb Park at the intersection of Western Avenue to the area of the US Post Office. Work is scheduled to begin at the Holcomb Park end of the street to reduce the impact on school traffic at Abner Gibbs Elementary School and the South Middle School.
“I’ve been coordinating with the School Department through the superintendent’s office,” Berube said. “Lane Construction has been monitoring school traffic and will try to work around that to reduce traffic conflicts, to be as minimally invasive as possible.”
Court Street will be paved from the intersection of Mill and High streets down to the area of Holland Street, while the entire length of High Street will be resurfaced.
Berube said the streets will be left in the milled condition while the structures are raised to accept the new asphalt.
“I anticipate it will be paved by the middle of October,” Berube said.
The city has completed improvements to several streets with “pothole” funding from the state. The state allotted the city $180,000 for a pothole grant, money that must be expended before September.
Road repairs and paving have been completed this summer on Springdale Road and South Broad Street, as well as sections of City View Road and Shaker Road.
Springdale Road, between Holyoke Road and Union Street, and City View Road between Southwick Road and Valley View Drive were improved as well as Old Montgomery Road which provides access to Westfield Electroplating, the Pioneer Valley Railroad and the Westwood office building and restaurant.
