Three miles of North Road has been redone, and line striping will be done in the next couple of weeks. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski said she has been getting positive comments about roads in Westfield recently. One resident called her to say they were very happy with the new surface on North Road. Another resident called, who had previously contacted her with concerns about the section of Montgomery Road near the high school. Babinski said they were happy the city was able to do the road sooner than anticipated.
Matthew Roman, representing the “senior snoopers” during public participation at Thursday’s City Council meeting, also gave a positive report. “The roads are being worked on at the present time. North Road at Southampton Road; everybody who lives down there is very happy that they are finally taking care of the roads,” Roman said to the councilors, adding, “Let’s continue doing it.”
“For far too long, we’ve not paid close enough attention to all of our streets and roads. Recently, we’ve gotten better at managing what we have and where those needs are,” said Mayor Brian P. Sullivan.
Sullivan said of North Road, they were able to use cold-in-place recycling, a new technology which enabled them to do the entire street at a reduced cost.
“Cold in place recycling is something we’re trying out. It’s very cost effective. We were able to do three miles at a much lower cost,” said Jeremy Cigal, assistant civil engineer. With cold in place recycling, they pick up the old pavement, grind it up, and use it as the base coat of the road. Civil engineer Mark Cressotti described the process at a meeting a few months ago, by saying that they would “basically set up a train (of road machines) to chew up the road on one side and spit it out on the other.”
Cigal said North Road was a two-step process with the seal coating – cold in place recycling, and then the final overlay. He said the road is in good shape, except for a 400 foot portion where private contractors were running a new water line. He said they had to skip that section near Armbrook Village, but it should be done in a couple of weeks. Line striping is the last piece, which Cigal said will also be done over the next couple of weeks. “It’s amazing how it dresses up a road,” he said.
Mayor Sullivan said the city will be using the cold-in-place technology on other streets where it’s best suited, depending on what’s in the road. He said if there are too many manholes or too much engineering, it’s not conducive to the new technology. Micro surfacing is being used on other streets, he said, giving Union Street as an example. In that process, potholes are fixed to get the road in as good a condition as possible, then the road gets a surface layer. Crack sealing is also being used on other roads, as a preventive measure.
Other roads besides North and Montgomery that have been done to date this season include Dry Bridge Road, Old Stage Road, and East Silver Street. Paper Mill Road and Grandview Drive are in progress; and both Lockhouse Road and Granville Road will be done later this fall.
Some of the funding for the roads is coming from Chapter 90, some is in the budget, including $400,000 for North Road on top of the Ch. 90 funds used; and some of the work is coming from the Meals tax revenue. Sullivan said they are pulling together funds from various parts of the budget, including the Meals tax, to do work on Shaker Road this fall.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti agreed that it’s been a busy season. He said Little River Road is done, with state and federal funding. The central section of Western Avenue will also be done with state and federal funds. “Our effort is done; now it’s in the hands of the MassDOT,” Cressotti said. The bid opening date for Western Avenue will be at the end of October, and following the awarding of the contract will be a notice to proceed next spring. Also planned for the spring is Washington St.
“The roads are a continued complaint around the city. They’ve been underfunded for a long time. This Mayor and the City Council are trying to address that,” Cressotti said.
Mayor Sullivan said by the end of October, they should have an engineering report from a third party that actually categorizes and manages an engineering approach to every single road in the city. He said the report will catalog every road, quantify its condition, and how the city should approach it. Some of the Meals tax money was also used for the report, Sullivan said.
The city will also be applying for some grants outside of the Ch. 90 funding, which totaled $1.2 million this year. “It’s a ten year plan, not a one year plan. We did some really big projects – Montgomery Road, North Road; Granville and Lockhouse next. We still have more to do,” Sullivan said, adding, “This is year two of my ten year plan.”
Councilor Babinski said she sent an email sharing the positive feedback to the DPW and the Mayor. She said she still encourages residents in Ward 1 to notify the DPW or call her to report a serious concern, so it can be taken care of.
“It’s good to see the city has been putting together a road management plan. They will be tackling some of these issues. As a ward councilor, I’m happy that here’s been some positive feedback, and residents are happy with the results,” Babinski said.
