Work begins to upgrade highways in local towns

Work has begun in Springfield and Windsor to upgrade Class I town highways, add new marking and guardrails, and improve drainage and sidewalk ramps.

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2016-04-22 / Front Page Work begins to upgrade highways in local towns By Tory Jones Bonenfant toryb@eagletimes.com Work has begun in Springfield and Windsor to upgrade Class I town highways, add new marking and guardrails, and improve drainage and sidewalk ramps. “Work is going as planned, and there have been no changes to the bid price,” said Jacqueline Dagesse, project outreach manager for Williston, Vermont-based EIV Technical Services via email on Thursday, April 21. New road work on resurfacing, new pavement, drainage and other improvements by Pike Industries began in April in Springfield and Windsor, both with estimated completion by July of this year, according to a project factsheet posted in early April at local municipal offices. Project work has been underway since last summer in Chester and Rockingham. Work in Rockingham began July 2015, with estimated completion by June 2016, while work in Chester began in August 2015, also with estimated completion by June 2016. The Chester-Springfield-Rockingham-Windsor STP 2952(1) project includes improvements to 2.841 miles within town limits on Vermont Route 11 in Springfield, and .818 miles along U.S. Route 5 and 3.355 miles along Vermont Route 44, both in Windsor, according to the factsheet. At this time, work includes the following upgrades in each town: Springfield ECI will install new pedestrian signal heads next week, April 25-29, at the intersection of Vermont Route 11 at Summer Street and Park Street, and will work west installing new pedestrian signal heads at the intersections of Vermont Route 11 at Vermont Route 106 and Eaton Avenue, finishing at the intersection of Vermont Route 11 and Shopping Center and McDonald’s. Rockingham Tri-State Signs is completing the installation of road signs this week, Dagesse said. Windsor Town Manager Tom Marsh wrote in a newsletter this week, updating road work progress, that EIC completed work in Rockingham at the intersection of Route 5 and Route 121, replacing the pedestrian crossing signals on April 6 and 7. Chester Pike Industries' subcontractor, Engineers Construction Inc, began removing the pavement and adjusting the alignment and elevation of the rail at the highway crossing, Dagesse said. “ECI is planning to install underdrain, ballast, ties, rails and concrete grade crossing panels this week and continuing into next week. At the end of next week, ECI will install new ties and rail on the railroad crossing approaches,” she said. Pike Industries' subcontractor, Tri-State Signs, is staking out the location for traffic signs and will begin installing new road signs on Friday, April 22. Windsor Pike Industries began “cold planing,” or controlled removal of the existing surface, on Monday, April 21 on Vermont Route 44, working east towards Route 5 (Main Street), Dagesse said. Pike is planning to finish cold-planing Vermont Route 44 by the beginning of next week and will begin on Main Street at the south end of the project and work north. Pike is expected to complete cold planing activities by the end of next week, and the company’s subcontractor, Ryebrook, will begin rehabilitating drop inlets and sewer manholes following cold planing activities. Pike plans to begin laying the first lift of pavement the end of next week, according to Dagesse. Road improvements in Windsor follow a $400,000 repair project that started last month to replace a main line measuring about six inches in diameter with a 12-inch line for greater water flow in case of a fire emergency. That project was paid for through the town's Water Utility Capital Fund, according to the town manager. At this time, construction crews plan to work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and drivers will still be able to access all businesses along the project routes, Dagesse said. “We will be utilizing flaggers and uniformed traffic officers to traffic control,” she added. Pike Industries won the bid for the complete project with a bid of $9,461,224, according to the public factsheet. The four-town project, overseen by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, has an estimated completion date for all scheduled improvements by the end of July 2016. The project manager for the current road work project in the four towns is Mike Fowler. Ann Gammell is the regional engineer for the projects, and Ryan Darling is the resident engineer. For more information, Dagesse can be reached at jdagesse@eivtech.com or (802) 324-5522.