SOUTHWICK – Road work on College Highway is supposed to be complete by Halloween.
With less than a week to go, Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jeffrey Neece said Verizon still has work to do.
“Lines for Verizon need to be switched over and as many as eight poles need to be removed,” said Neece. “Then Palmer Paving needs to patch.”
Neece offered an update to the Board of Selectmen this week and selectmen asked Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart if he could contact Verizon to find out what was holding up the work.
“I suspect they are working on the CSX project,” Stinehart said.
Selectman Russell Fox asked Stinehart if he could “be a little more forceful” with Verizon.
Stinehart did contact Verizon and said they assured him they are not neglecting Southwick to work on other projects.
“They said they had to wait for the other utilities to finish up,” Stinehart said, emphasizing that the road work is a project of the Department of Transportation, not the town.
Verizon Government Relations Representative Ellen Cummings said they have begun working this week.
“The phone company’s always the last one,” said Cummings. “We have to wait for the other utilities to do their work. When we can get in there, we do. It was just turned over to us.”
A Comcast representative said that company finished its work on the poles more than a month ago.
Cummings said she does not have a new date for completion.
“I can’t really say right now,” she said. “I spoke to Karl and will be in touch again in about a week.”
