WESTFIELD – Contractors last week began work to repair roads throughout the city, milling or grinding the old pavement down and raising structures in preparation for laying new asphalt.
The initial phase calls for reconstruction of Springdale Road between Holyoke Road and Union Street, of City View Road between Southwick Road and Valley View Drive, and Old Montgomery Road which provides access to Westfield Electroplating, the Pioneer Valley Railroad and the Westwood office building and restaurant.
The second phase is slated for September after underground infrastructure improvements are completed. The paving schedule is a moving target as additional work has to be completed before paving those streets.
The tentative schedule includes: Court, High and Chestnut streets where the WG&E is replacing gas lines and possibly West Silver Street.
The city is using $300,000 of its FY 2014 Chapter 90 allocation for road improvements and paving and also has access to an additional $184,000 of special state funding. That money, which became available on July 1 and must be used by the end of September, was allocated by the state following one of the worst pothole winters in recent history. This year the freeze-thaw cycle, which usually starts in March, this year began in January.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said earlier this summer that priority is being given to the streets most damaged this past winter. That list includes Springdale Road and City View Road in the initial phase as well as a section of Shaker Road between Falley and Laro drives will be paved.
Casey Berube, interim director of the Public Works Department, said that a number of the planned paving projects have been delayed because of underground infrastructure, mainly gas and water, improvements.
“Shaker Road is being done with the pothole money and Lane Construction, the city’s paving contractor, is aware of that – that it has to be done by the end of September,” Berube said. “Shaker Road is now ready for milling. Lane knows it has to be done before the end of September.”
Replacement of two gas line valves and water line improvements are now complete, but the city has to reschedule the milling operation with Lane because that equipment has been moved to another community, Berube said.
