The Massachusetts Department of Transportation released an update on the current status of two streetscape improvement projects and one bridge construction project located in Great Barrington, Pittsfield and Dalton.

The Main Street Project in Great Barrington offers various streetscape improvements to the town’s business district.  The project consists of resurfacing and/or replacement of full depth pavement on Main Street from Taconic Avenue North to Cottage Street, a distance of 0.51 miles. The work includes pavement repair, pavement milling and overlay, sidewalk repair, traffic signal improvements and pavement markings, and additional landscape and streetscape improvements.  

The project incorporates key safety features for this area such as wider outer bicycle lanes, new pedestrian crosswalks, “bump-out” curb extensions, and improved lighting. The project contractor is J.H. Maxymillian, Inc.  The project began in 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in June.

The Woodlawn Avenue Bridge Project, located in the old GE Brownfields Redevelopment property in Pittsfield, replaces the existing bridge structure carrying Woodlawn Avenue over CSX railroad tracks at the same location and reconstructs a portion of each approach. The approaches to the bridge and a section of Woodlawn Avenue are in the process of being reconstructed, including the Woodlawn Avenue and Kellogg Street intersection.

The work on the project includes excavation, pavement milling, installing granite curb and edging, removing and resetting granite curb, paving, constructing cement concrete sidewalks, driveways and access ramps, removing and disposing guardrail, constructing new drainage structures, cleaning catch basins, relocating water main, furnishing and installing street lighting on Woodlawn Avenue, furnishing and installing pavement markings, and providing temporary traffic control. The construction of a new single span structure utilizing steel girders and a concrete deck is a main component of the project.  

This project will help to connect critical roadways needed for the soon to be constructed Berkshire Innovation Center. This week, the project’s contractor Northern Construction, LLC, began paving operations that are scheduled to be completed within the next few days. Curb and sidewalk work will begin as soon as paving operations are complete. The overall project is scheduled to be in Full Beneficial Use in July with additional seasonal plantings taking place in the fall.  

In March, work began on the Dalton Housatonic Street Project. The project serves as a MassDOT Healthy Transportation Project by adding sidewalk and bicycle shoulders to provide improved multimodal access to Nessacus Middle School.  The work under this contract consists of excavation, full depth construction, pavement reclamation, milling, paving, new curbing and edging installation, sidewalk reconstruction, drainage, installation of a precast three-side box culvert and headwalls, modular block retaining walls, stone masonry walls, providing and spreading composted mulch and seed. In addition, the project will also include traffic signing and pavement markings, traffic control management, and other landscape and street improvements.

The work also includes proactive efforts to protect adjacent buildings, located at 207 and 213 Housatonic Street, from possible damage during construction. As part of this protection, a pre-construction survey of all buildings on the properties must be performed, Limits of Vibration shall be established in concurrence with the Engineer, and the vibrations must be monitored with seismograph during construction to ensure that vibration levels do not exceed established limits.  The contractor for the project is Baltazar Construction. $55.68 million.

• Most Read

• Most Comments

• All News

• Blogroll

• Photos