Projects everywhere
Commuter lot redo
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Town officials still have a Memorial Day goal for the opening of the renovated commuter lot on Kennedy Drive.
Both the base and final asphalt coatings are finished, according to Town Administrator Elaine Sistare. The landscaping beds have been created and May 19 Advance Resources was putting metal edging on the beds to prevent soil from eroding out of the bed. A metal guide rail has replaced the wood post and cable that ran along the length of the project on Canal Street. Also re-installed are the two EV chargers. The lot also has conduits for 13 additional EV chargers. The entrance/exit has been moved further away from the Rt. 44/Kennedy Drive intersection and a complete storm water management system has been installed.
But before it opens, the lines have to be painted, the light poles have to be installed, the landscaping beds have to be planted. She said that they are considering putting an 8-foot evergreen to replace the evergreen that stood just west of the restrooms. “We need to make sure it doesn’t mess with the sight line, though,” she said. Naturally, this is weather permitting.
They are trying for Memorial Day but Sistare said she’d be “be more comfortable with saying the end of the month as the goal.”
The first week of June, she said, the town will open the restrooms. They’ll clean out the cobwebs that may have built up in the last six months. The restrooms will be open during the day and she said generally the Highway Department makes sure it’s locked every night. The restrooms were closed just after the Fire and Ice event because of the lot project and also because the restrooms were being destroyed by vandals.
Danco Bridge Waiting
The replacement of the Danco Bridge is still waiting for Eversource to move a wire. Sistare said that was schedule for the end of May but she was just notified that it will be pushed to the week of June 4. Considering when the asphalt plants might close — mid to late November — the construction schedule will now be a tight one. “We’re running up against the end point. If we move right along, we should be able to finish,” she said. Travis Sirrine, highway superintendent, said the town has done a few things already to help facilitate the Eversource electrical and gas work. The town has done extensive tree work/cutting and has put gravel in the area that Eversource will need to work in, moving poles.
Sidewalks Done by July 4
The goal for the finish of the last of the four large sidewalk projects is July 4, according to Mayor Barney Seney.
Currently the Mather Corporation of Bloomfield is working on the School Street section of sidewalks.
“We are repairing walls and laying sidewalks as we go along,” Seney said. The other three projects under the “Sidewalk Project” umbrella, Grove Street, Woodstock Avenue and Church Street are already done. Millions in state Local Transportation Improvement Project grant money has funded the projects. Seney said the town was required to handle the engineering and inspections.
.
captions, page 5:
The commuter lot paved. A few more touches left to do. Linda Lemmon photos.
Advance Resources putting in edging. The guard rail along Canal, right.
Sidewalks going in along School Street. Expanded photo array Wed night on our FB page.