DANIEL M. KNAPIK
WESTFIELD – City officials have been notified that the city may receive a $2 million Gateway Communities grant to fund the extension of the Columbia Greenway to the area of Main Street.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said yesterday that the city has been notified through the Executive Officer of Environmental Affairs that the funds will be made available for construction next summer.
“This would keep momentum on the trail work going forward so we don’t have big time gaps between phases,” Knapik said.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said the work needs to be completed in the city’s current 2015 fiscal year which end on June 30, 2015, but added that the state Department of Transportation has not finalized the funding process.
MARK CRESSOTTI
“I don’t have the money yet,” Cressotti said, “I am moving and have met with the city’s consultant, VHB, to get the bid documents ready because we do have to move fast when the funds become available.”
“Apparently the DOT is putting the $2 million toward the (Columbia) Greenway project because the city has received Gateway Communities grants and has been successful in completing the work within the required timeframe,” Cressotti said.
The Columbia Greenway project funding, $6.8 million for the central phase of construction, was originally included on the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) transportation improvement project (TIP) funding list, but was moved to the state TIP.
Federal funds are divided with about half of the funds being passed through the state to the MPOs across the state and the other half expended through state agencies such as the DOT and Gateway Communities grants.
In May, contractors used a crane to place large steel beams on a support structure that will be part of the Columbia Greenway Project. The bridge is located off Ponders Hollow Road in Westfield. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
“So this work is being funded at the state level, not the regional level,” Cressotti said. “The city is competing with other communities for that limited funding.”
The scope of the work will be to extend the trail from East Silver Street to the area of Stop & Shop on Main Street. The phase will include construction of a new bridge, with a 14-foot-six inch clearance, over East Silver Street and tunnel for a multiuse trail under the elevated railroad bed connecting the Hedges Avenue/St. Dennis Street neighborhood with the Taylor Avenue/Ashley Street neighborhood.
Ward 2 City Councilor Ralph Figy said that part of the planning process for the proposed phase of work extending the trail to the area of Main Street will include public comment.
“I’s advocating strongly for public meetings,” Figy said. “I have several issues pertaining to safety and privacy. I don’t want kids having to cross East Silver Street on bicycles to access the ramp up to the trail. I think we need to have access on both sides of East Silver Street.”
Figy said the location of the northern access, to complement the southern access ramp constructed this summer, has yet to be identified.
Figy said the privacy issues have been raised with each new construction phase and will be addressed as the projects continue to proceed through the downtown area.
