HopNews
In a letter to the Select Board dated October 4, 2023, Facilities Manager and Engineer Dave Daltorio notified Town Hall that Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has confirmed that the Main Street construction project is now tentatively estimated to end July 2024. The original end date was October 2023.
Daltorio’s letter continued, outlining both points of progress and setbacks. While sidewalks are nearing completion, changes are required in the area in front of the Korean Presbyterian Church (2 Main Street), requiring the concrete that was poured to be removed.
The traffic signals at both intersections of Wood & Main Street and Route 85 and Main Street were not installed to the design plan. The subcontractor, Amorello & Sons, was notified and the fixes are pending.
“No update from Eversource,” Daltorio wrote. “No idea when transformers will be available.” Last July, town manager Norman Khumalo notified the Select Board that Eversource was having difficulty sourcing the underground transformers. “Eversource says it is highly unlikely that they will find transformers this year,” he said. Underground transformers are needed to remove the existing above-ground Verizon poles.
>> RELATED: Supply Chain Problems will Delay Main Street Completion
While below-grade construction has been completed, the unavailability of the transformers means the town will hold off on the final course of pavement until next year.
Engineers have also noted that the paint on installed traffic poles is peeling. According to Daltorio, MassDOT has a plan to strip the poles and paint them in place.
This week, crews are cleaning up the job site in anticipation of the winter season.
A live look at the construction crews is available on the Main Street Corridor website.
What a horrible mess this project has become. It’s embarrassing and should be unacceptable. The whole project is abhorrent. The sidewalks-bikepaths are to wide and parked vehicles on the right side of Main Street are way too close to the travel lane.
This is a total waste of money, resources and common sense. Who, from the town, is responsible for overseeing this mess? They should be fired!
Between this unfortunate project, our issues with clean water, and our budget problems – oh wait let’s add a new over-priced elementary school to that, it is difficult not to be a discouraged Hopkintonian at the moment. We need change and we need it now.
Regarding the peeling posts, shouldn’t the original contractor who installed them be responsible to replace them? Shouldn’t they be powder coated so they are maintenance-free? Having them painted by DOT now probably means the town will have to pay to have them repainted every 5 to 8 years. If the contractor cut corners on the posts, where else might that have been done in less visible locations?
One might even say, quoting, it is “… a solution in search of a problem” 😉
Happy to say I don’t ever go downtown. When I do I can at lest say I can see where my tax dollars are being wasted. This town hasn’t changed in good ways over the last 10 years. I do appreciate the $20 off my water bill monthly though. It goes far at the store to purchase water and add more plastic to the waste stream.
A mini ‘Big Dig’ fiasco.
Whoever is involved with this project should be immediately fired. I have lived there for 44 years and I’ve never seen this town so screwed up.