WESTFIELD – The Board of Public Works will review engineering contracts for the design work related to road reconstruction projects throughout the city tonight.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti will present the details of two engineering contracts to the board members at the 7 p.m. meeting to be held in room 201 of city hall. Both contracts are being awarded to Tighe & Bond, a Westfield-based engineering consultant.
One of the contracts will provide the design for the East Mountain Road rehabilitation effort, while the second will provide engineering for Old Town Roadway Reconstruction project, which includes most of the residential streets between Main Street and East Silver Street. The East Mountain Road engineering contract has a cost of $342,400, typically about 10 percent of the total project cost.
Cressotti said this morning that the East Mountain Road project will include an upgrade to the drainage system on that traffic artery which links Route 202 (North Road) and Route 20 (Springfield). The East Mountain Road project will “address defects along the entire length of the roadway.”
“Improving inadequate drainage, which is the primary cause of asphalt deterioration, is one of the major elements of the project,” Cressotti said. “The city will use stormwater management funds for that drainage element of the project.”
The city is also seeking state and federal funding for the “pavement rehabilitation” element of the project, which will include removing and replacing the existing pavement in areas of the road.
“The drainage element may proceed before the state and federal funding is secured,” Cressotti said. “Securing that state and federal funding may take several years.”
The Old Town Road Reconstruction project is planned for the 2013 construction season and will be coordinated with the construction of the proposed elementary school at the corner of Ashley and Cross streets and the senior center on Noble Street. The engineering cost for that work is $266,100.
“Cross Street and Noble Street will be substantially reconstructed because of infrastructure improvements related to the two building projects,” Cressotti said. “Some of the other streets are not in bad shape and the scope of work will be related to street scape improvements such as new curbs and sidewalks.”
The Old Town Road Reconstruction project includes: Taylor, State, Cross, Ashley, George Frederick, Noble, East Silver, Cycle and Exchange streets as well as Parkside Avenue, Cleveland Avenue, Lindbergh Boulevard and Old Town Fordway.
Many of those streets were impacted by the $14 million Main Street reconstruction project, while others have been trenched for gas and water improvements and need to be resurfaced.
“Most of these are older streets where the infrastructure, drains and sewers, are not in bad shape, but we do plan to replace water lines, pave, install new sidewalks and curbs as part of this effort,” Cressotti said. “A lot of this is centered on meeting the new demands of the proposed school and senior center.”
