MARK CRESSOTTI
WESTFIELD – Gaslight District reconstruction work will slow as the winter begins to tighten its grip on the region and the current phase of work is completed.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said the contractor, Gagliarducci Construction Inc. of Springfield, will be “buttoning up for the winter” as work on School and Central streets is completed. The contractor will continue the on-going work on School and Central where they will be raising structures and installing curbing on Central Street only.
The contractor will also be installing a manhole on School St. and the street will most likely be closed from the intersection of Central to Washington St.
“I think we’re going to be OK,” Cressotti said yesterday morning. “There will be change orders, but that’s not unexpected with a tough project this big, this detailed, in one of the oldest parts of the city.”
Cressotti said that Gagliarducci was selected because the company has experience in doing complex projects.
The Gaslight District project encompasses the entire neighborhood, and municipal lots, between Elm and Washington streets on the east and west and between Franklin and Court streets on the north and south.
The $5.9 million project is being funded through a number of city sources, including the Water Resource Department and a city bond, as well as state funding through Chapter 90. The project also includes replacement of water lines and some sewer lines, among the oldest in the city, and associated work to tie buildings and homes into the new sewer system.
Water infrastructure improvements are being paid through the Water Resource Department while the sewer replacement work will be funded with $2.75 million from the I&I account.
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.
