WESTFIELD – The Board of Public Works approved five engineering and construction contracts for road and sidewalk improvements across the city last night.
The contracts include engineering design for three major projects including improvements to Western Avenue, Elm Street and North Elm Street at the intersection of Notre Dame Street.
The board also approved two construction contracts, one for a sidewalk along Prospect Street and the second for sidewalk improvements on Elm Street between Church Street and the southern boundary of the Great River Bridge project site. The Elm Street improvements include a traffic signal upgrade on Elm Street at the Arnold/Thomas streets intersection and at the Franklin Street intersection.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said this morning that the Western Avenue improvements include replacement of the traffic signal at the intersection of Court, Mill and High streets as well as the installation of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Western Avenue and Lloyds Hill Road.
The $215,147 design contract was awarded to Malone & MacBroom of Springfield.
Cressotti said the scope of work will include sewer and water line upgrades, as well as the installation of a dedicated turn lane between the frontage of Stanley Park and the Westfield State University administrative building and athletic complex.
“The Western Avenue improvements have been on the city’s inventory of projects for 12 years,” Cressotti said.
The Board of Public Works also awarded a $91,000 design contract to VHB of Springfield to reconfigure the intersection of North Elm and Notre Dame streets. Cressotti said that North Elm Street, which currently has four lanes, two in each direction, will be widened to five lanes.
The center lane will be a dedicated left turn lane allowing northbound motorists to turn onto Notre Dame Street to access Prospect Hill and also allow southbound motorists to turn onto lower Notre Dame Street to access.
The board voted to award a $34,825 contract to New England Concrete Services to extend the sidewalk along Prospect Street Extension between Kane Brothers Circle and Jeremy Circle and make other improvements.
The final two contracts, one for engineering design and the other for construction, both pertain to the Elm Street improvements. The city is seeking to improve the section of Elm Street between the two state projects. Road improvements have been made to Elm Street as part of the Great River Bridge project and as part of the Main Street/Broad Street road reconstruction effort.
Both state projects include infrastructure upgrades. The Westfield Gas & Electric Department installed a new gas line between the two projects last year.
The Water Commission voted last week to award a $605,000 contract to install an new water line between the two state projects, connecting to new lines installed as part of both projects.
The Public Works Board has already approved $120,000 for the initial engineering work. Tuesday night the board approved an additional $87,000 for the sidewalk, traffic signal and paving work associated with the roadway improvements.
The board also awarded a $630,239 construction contract to Morais Construction of Springfield. The firm will perform work for both departments.
