WESTFIELD – The Conservation Commission closed its public hearing on the North Elm Street/Notre Dame Street improvement project last night and set a number of conditions, including a $30,000 performance bond, related to stormwater collection and treatment.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said the city plans to advertise the $4 million project in March and award the contract in April with construction, expected to span two construction seasons, to begin as soon as the weather allows.
“We’ll advertise the project on March 11 and there is a pre-bid conference for interested contractors set for March 20 with the bid opening slated for April 3,” Cressotti said this morning. “The contract will be awarded in early April after the purchasing department reviews and certifies that the bids meet the specification of the contract. The project contract will be awarded by the Board of Public Works.”
“This project will address the final congestion issue along the (Route 10 and 202) traffic corridor,” Cressotti said.
The project focus is to create dedicated left-turn lanes both north and south on North Elm Street which requires widening of the paved surface, installation of new draining, replacing the present structures with deep-sump basins to allow sediments to drop out of stormwater as it is collected and before it is discharged into the Westfield River.
The project will also address chronic flooding in the intersection of North Elm and Notre Dame streets by plugging the present drainage from that intersection into Powder Brook. That connection allows water from the brook to backflow into the intersection when the water level of the brook rises over the drainage outfall.
The upper section of Notre Dame Street will also be widened to create a greater turning radius for school buses and heavy commercial vehicles. New sidewalks, crosswalks and traffic-control signals will also be installed to improve pedestrian safety.
The Conservation Commission issues its permit with conditions to address the construction and maintenance of a rain garden where stormwater from a new parking lot will be collected and sediment removed by the vegetation. It will be constructed on the south side of Notre Dame Street and will replace the present parking areas around the Mestek facility being taken to allow the widening of the pavement.
The commission wanted upgrades for stormwater treatment because the project will increase the paved area by about 23,000 square feet, more than a half-acre of new asphalt.
The parking area will be elevated above the surface because of contamination in the soil. The goal of that work is to avoid disturbing the contaminated soil level.
The rain garden will require excavation of soil, which will be replaced with man-made material to trap sediments and other pollution and to foster the growth of the rain garden vegetation.
The Conservation Commission approved a condition that prohibits the start of construction until the contractor submits a plan to test the excavated soil and until the property owner submits a maintenance plan for the rain garden which could fail if not properly maintained.
