The long awaited project will be bid and under construction in 2010.
It is about as official as it can be in the middle of winter.
Governor Patrick, Congressman Neil, State Senator Moore, State Rep Callahan, and several Town officials were in attendance at a brief ceremony at the South Common on Friday at 3:00 PM at which the Governor officially announce the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the $11.0 Million ($13 with contingencies) project.
Before the ARRA announcement, it looked very good for the project to proceed in the spring with mostly State funds. The ARRA designation solidifies and accelerates the project schedule. ARRA projects have a very aggressive bid to award requirement. There will be a contractor hired to do the project before February 1, 2010.
The Mass Department of Transportation now takes over the entire project. The Town did its part to complete design, replace water and sewer infrastructure, and push for funding. Now MDOT will advertise and award the bid, coordinate utility pole relocation, and manage the construction contract from start to finish.
MDOT has indicated that the project will likely take two construction seasons. The Governor requested that MDOT make every effort to accelerate the construction schedule to reap the benefits the completed project will provide.
Our engineers at BETA Group put together some color plans for the Governor’s announcement. These two plans are attached. One shows the entire project and the other a blow up of the intersection near the South Common.
The DPW will continue to post updates as things move along. The next important date is the January 20th bid opening, followed by the January 29th contractor notice to proceed.
$13 Million dollars in project funding is a tough holiday gift to top!
Happy Holidays!
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