Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy watches milling progress on Lindbergh Avenue. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy took a walk on Lindbergh Avenue last week to view the progress of the long-awaited road repair project.
The road is being milled this week, and then clean-up work will begin for the next week or two, followed by the final paving the week of Sept. 23, if the weather cooperates.
Figy said he is excited about the work being done with city funds, as are the residents.
“Trying to address the most needy streets with a limited budget is a balancing act,” Figy said. “I’m glad for the support and for the residents of Lindbergh Avenue. It’s been a long time coming.”
Assistant Civil Engineer Jeremy Cigal said other streets that have just been completed include Prospect Steet Extension, and the long stretch of Northwest Road from Granville Road to Bates Road. He said touch up work is being done on Northwest Road now. That road was completed using cold in-place recycling, the same process used on North Road last year.
Cigal said both Prospect and Northwest roads used up a good chunk of the Chapter 90 funds for this year. With the small remaining funds added to DPW funds, he said they are looking to pave an additional street this fall.
Earlier in the season, Washington Street was completed, and the remaining sidewalks will be done this fall.
Although not a city project, MassDOT is continuing with drainage installation on Western Avenue, which they are trying to wrap up this construction season. Right now they are completing drainage work at Lloyd’s Hill and are in front of Stanley Park. The work will continue down to Llewellyn Drive. Cigal said the city is monitoring the progress, and has expressed their concerns to MassDOT to make sure the road is ready for the winter.
Two signal projects are also starting in the city. There has been activity by Verizon on Springfield Road in front of the Shortstop Bar & Grill, and construction is starting to widen the street, and do prep work and foundation work, which will go through the fall. The signals will most likely be placed next spring in this MassWorks project.
The Springdale Road signal project is starting towards the end of September with a minor realignment of the edge of the road. Cigal said it will be late winter or early spring before the actual equipment arrives. This job is a city project that is coming out of the Engineering budget.
“Everybody realized the need there,” Cigal said.
Progress is also being made on the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail. The city opened the bid for the work on the bridges and rail trail central section. Four bidders responded, with the low bidder, New England Infrastructure out of Hudson, MA, at $7,677,136, which was slightly over the MassDOT budget.
“We would expect them to award the contract,” Cigal said. He said there is a chance for them to start mobilizing this fall, and some demolition work can be done over the winter. He said it will be very active this spring for this project.
Amy Porter can be reached at [email protected].
