WESTFIELD – The potential of a strike in nine states, including Massachusetts, could cause delays in a significant portion of the Gaslight District project: the removal of overhead power and telecommunication lines and the poles supporting those lines.
The current contract, which covers 39,000 workers, between Verizon and two unions, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America, expires on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2015. Members of the two unions have authorized a strike, if necessary, because Verizon is attempting to sharply increase their health care contributions and make concession on pensions.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said the timing of the possible strike will delay work that is scheduled to begin this week as the Westfield Gas & Electric Department, Comcast and Verizon are slated to begin moving power and telecommunication lines underground on School, Central, and Church streets.
“A strike effects us significantly because we were just ready to begin pulling wires (through underground conduits),” Cressotti said. “Verizon is suppose to work concurrently with the WG&E which is scheduled to begin that effort by the end of this week.”
Cressotti said that if the telephone lines are not put underground with the other utilities, it would prevent the removal of the overhead telephone lines and of the utility poles.
“So we couldn’t get rid of the poles and overhead telephone lines until the strike is resolved and I have no idea how long that could take,” Cressotti said.
The WG&E effort is considerably more complicated than the scope of work to be performed by either Verizon or Comcast.
“There is conduit to the individual building where many of the meters are inside the building and need to be moved outside,” Cressotti said. “Many of the buildings have vintage electrical systems, some properties do not have circuit breaker boxes, they have fuse relay systems which complicates moving the meters outside the buildings.”
“So even given a Verizon strike, there is significant effort on the part of the WG&E,” Cressotti said. “The Verizon part of that is not as complicated, but it’s an effort which still has to be done in a timely manner. It could be that Verizon can catch up, but there would still be a delay in removing the poles.”
Cressotti said the contractor, Gagliarducci Construction Inc. of Springfield, will be moving on to begin the Arnold Street portion of the $5.9 million Gaslight District work and that element of the project also involves relocating utility lines.
“As the Church Street work wraps up, the contractor will be taking up the pavement on Arnold Street, they would be starting that work this week when they run a temporary water line down the streets just as they did for School and Church streets,” Cressotti said.
The goal is to complete the underground work so that the base layer of pavement, the binder coat, can be put down on Church and Arnold Street before winter.
