MARK CRESSOTTI
WESTFIELD – The ongoing Gaslight District project will be shut down for the winter after the current phase when reconstruction of School and Central streets is concluded in November.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said Friday that paving of School and Central streets is slated to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 5, weather permitting.
The contractor, Gagliarducci Construction Inc. of Springfield, will continue during November to replace sidewalks along Central Street, Cressotti said, but that the contractor will only patch the sidewalks along School Street.
“There is a lot of conduit work to be done under the School Street sidewalks during the spring construction season next year,” Cressotti said. “My understanding is that the contractor will shut down for the winter.”
The $5.9 million Gas Light District Improvement Project, which encompasses the area between Elm Street on the east, and Washington Street on the west, Franklin Street on the north and Court Street on the south, began last June.
The project also includes replacement of some sewers, among the oldest in the city, and associated work to tie buildings and homes into the new sewer system.
The infrastructure is being upgraded to improve the quality of life for residents within the district and to position the city for economic development downtown. The work will also improve and enhance pedestrian movement between the municipal parking facilities and the city’s downtown commercial and entertainment district.
The off-street parking facilities off Arnold, Franklin and Church streets will be reconfigured and improved. Those reconfigurations will also support the Elm Street commercial and transportation projects and the eventual construction of a multistory parking garage.
A new street will be constructed through the Arnold Street municipal parking lot at an offset with Summer Street and the cut-through between Church and School streets. Sidewalks are planned to be installed with pump-outs to increase pedestrian safety.
Cressotti said the present infrastructure is inadequate to support economic development and in many cases is failing, which has a direct impact on residents in the district because of interruption of water and sewer services.
“This whole neighborhood is in need of upgraded utilities. The existing facilities don’t support economic development or serve the needs of the residents,” Cressotti said when presenting details of the plan to the Traffic Commission, of which he is a member.
“We’ve been working on this project for over a decade,” Cressotti said. “The work was planned with an 18-month construction schedule.”
Cressotti said that Gagliarducci was selected because the company has experience in doing complex projects.
“This is a challenging project with lots of different elements,” he said. “so there will be issues with a project of this size and complexity.”
