The Pulaski Boulevard Bellingham road improvement project has just received $13.0 Million in State and Federal funding. The four year funding road improvement funding plan is known as the 2010-2013 TIP (Traffic Improvement Plan). It was published on October 2nd. The Pulaski Project is listed for Federal Fiscal Year 2010, which starts October 1, 2009.
Bellingham is fortunate to have been placed on the TIP. If it was not approved for year 2010, it would likely not have been considered until 2014. The project was in competition for very limited State roadway improvement funding with other eastern Massachusetts projects in the region that extends all the way up Route 495 and into and including Boston. Bellingham is at the outermost reaches of the regional planning organization known as the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMPO). There are over 400 worthwhile projects in the BMPO database with costs totaling over a Billion Dollars. It is a great achievement for Bellingham to get approval from the BMPO for a project of this size on the outskirts of the region.
State Representative Jennifer Callahan was of great assistance in the funding process. Over the last few years, she joined Town officials at several BMPO meetings. "Having to compete with Boston projects for funding is an uphill battle to stay the least. However, approval for this project demonstrates the positive~power of advocacy and professional planning on the part of local and State officials," said Callahan. "After securing traffic lights at both ends of Blackstone Street, this has been my foremost priority transportation and public safety project. In spite of~these challenging economic times, this is tremendous news for the Town."
State Senator Richard Moore has also been a strong supporter of this project. “After more than ten years of planning, dedication, and hard work, I was happy to learn that the Pulaski Boulevard project in the Town of Bellingham will be receiving state and federal funding through the Traffic Improvement Plan,” said Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge. “This project will certainly improve Bellingham’s infrastructure, and will bring about enhanced safety and traffic flow to local commuters.”
Without the assistance of our State legislators, it is unlikely that a project of this size would occur in Bellingham.
The project was initiated in 1996 with a conceptual design study and the Town has worked diligently to get it ready for construction. Water and Sewer infrastructure was constructed a few years ago. In 2007 and 2009, the parcels were acquired that are needed for roadway right of way changes, storm drainage facility construction, and temporary construction access. The cost of infrastructure and land, along with the cost to design the project, has brought the Town of Bellingham financial investment to around $4.0 million. Our local commitment likely played a part in being selected as one of the projects funded in this TIP.
This is a story in perseverance and cooperation. With the help of our engineers BETA Group, Inc., we pushed the project through the multiple reviews required by MassHighway. Our efforts included a nearly complete redesign at about the midpoint of the design process to grant a request by MassHighway. MassHighway staff has supported the project and expedited their reviews, putting the project in the very desirable ready to bid status.
The project will reconstruct 2.3 miles of Pulaski Boulevard from the Franklin town line to Orchard Street. It includes a complete reconstruction and realignment of the Crooks Corner (Pulaski-South Main-Wrentham St) intersection. This intersection now operates at worse than an “F” rating during the commuting hours and should operate at a “B” rating once construction is completed. A side effect of any such congestion mitigation is improvement to area air quality.
The project also includes work at other intersections. Lake Street will see significant improvements to geometry and sight distance, and the Center Street intersection will be signalized.
The roadway will be widened and sidewalks added and enhanced to improve vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian safety. The road will be widened to a width that is similar to Center Street and North Main Street. These two streets were reconstructed under this partially federally funded program several years ago.
Desperately needed storm drain improvements will also be constructed.
The most disruptive part of the project will be in the beginning when drain pipes need to be installed. Another disruptive portion of the work will be the reconstruction of the bridge that carries Peters River under Pulaski Boulevard just west of Lake Street. Almost all of the road will be regraded and during that work, sections of the road will be dirt for a short time before hot top is applied at the revised elevation. For the remainder of the project, the majority of the road will be open to two way traffic for all but a few isolated sections.
The project will now be turned over to MassHighway to construct and inspect. MassHighway has yet to establish an official bid date but their website indicates a construction start of the winter 2009-2010. According to MassHighway staff in November they will be reviewing all projects and will set a bid date for the Pulaski project. Preliminary meetings with MassHighway and the utility companies were held several months ago and efforts are already underway to relocate approximately 95 utility poles along the 2.3 mile long stretch of road. The project construction time is estimated at two years.
Although this will be a MassHighway project, the Town will continue to be involved to insure that the impact to our residents and business owners is kept to a minimum.
As soon as a bid schedule is published it will be posted on the website as will updates during the course of the project.
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