ATHOL – The Selectboard received an update on a number of ongoing projects, as well as times when they should be completed.
At the board’s meeting on Sept. 16, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski and Assistant Public Works Director Paul Raskevitz provided information on the ongoing Crescent Street, Freedom Street and Five Points projects.
“There is a lot going on in Athol and we know it creates some consternation at times,” Suhoski said. “Traffic can be a challenge.”
Raskevitz explained that work on the Crescent Street bridge was delayed to accommodate the closure of the Chestnut Hill Avenue bridges, due to work on the Five Points project. Both projects required shutdown of the water mains carrying drinking water over the river. Another main crosses the river at the Exchange Street bridge.
“Our water wells and our water treatment facility are on the north side of the river. On the south side of the Millers River is where all of our water tanks are,” Raskevitz said after the meeting. “So, there are only three river crossings for our water system. On Crescent Street, part of the work they had to do required shutting down that river crossing. (The water) was supposed to be back on a month ago, but that project was going slower than anticipated.
“In order for Crescent Street to complete their project, they would have had to shut down that river crossing,” he added. “The Chestnut Hill crossing was shut down for Five Points and Crescent Street would have shut down a second river crossing. That would have left only Exchange Street to move all the water back and forth in town, and had there had been a problem requiring us to shut that down, there would have been no way to move water back and forth.”
Raskevitz told the Selectboard that as of now Oct. 3 is the completion date for the work on Crescent Street.
“Five Points is still on target,” he said, adding it should be done next year. “There have been some underground utilities found that weren’t expected, drainage structures and other things that have been buried for 50, 60 years that weren’t on any plans.”
South of downtown, Raskevitz said that the work on Freedom Street is moving faster than anticipated, and both that and South Street should be completed by mid to late October, according to the contractor.
“All the sidewalks have been done on Freedom and they’re starting to pull them all out on South (Street),” he said.
Raskevitz said the Five Points area should be open to traffic this winter. He explained that work on temporary water and sewer lines and efforts to move those lines underground should be completed before winter sets in.
“It should be open again shortly going over the metal bridges and up Chestnut,” he said. “It’s closed now because they’re just buttoning up some stuff, but once that’s done they should open up that stretch from Main going up Chestnut.”
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.