Temporary Bridges Update #3

Monday Wrap-Up

As many of you will have noticed, the lane changes on Main Street that I wrote about on Friday and Monday were put in place today. Motorists seemed to adjust quickly to the new traffic pattern. There were no changes to pedestrian walkways.

The biggest temporary impact is on parking. Parking in front of the Post Office and the National Bank of Middlebury has been converted into the southbound travel lane for the remainder of the week. Parking in front of St. Stephen’s has been cordoned off to allow the contractor to house drilling equipment.

The contractor also excavated a trench on Main Street to facilitate drilling of minipiles. That work involved intermittent use of a jackhammer.

What’s on Tap Tuesday

On Tuesday, Nicholson, the drilling contractor, will mobilize its team and equipment on the St. Stephen’s side of Main Street. Drilling may commence later in the afternoon.

Also on Tuesday, as I mentioned in yesterday’s update, Kubricky will drill a small test pit on Merchants Row in front of Curve Appeal in order to determine the location of the town’s water line and sewer force main underneath the roadway. Kubricky expects to take 3-4 parking spaces in front of Curve Appeal and Carol’s Hungry Mind Café and otherwise will keep traffic flowing both ways in the regular travel lanes.

Printer’s Alley

Printer’s Alley was closed temporarily to vehicle traffic this morning and reopened around noon time. It will remain open to vehicle traffic until later in the week. The latest information I have is Thursday afternoon and I will update you as I hear more.

Tree Clearing

In order to construct the new pedestrian bridge that will connect the Bank to the P.O. and to relocate the town’s Main Street waterline, Kubricky will clear a handful of trees in the railroad right of way adjacent to the Main Street sidewalk. That work, and the removal of additional trees in the railroad right of way near the Merchants Row Bridge, will likely take part on Wednesday.

Waterline Shut-Off

I received news today that the Main Street waterline is likely to be shut off for 3-4 hours on Monday afternoon next week to begin the process of relocating this key waterline. I will be back in touch when I have more info on timing and impacts on local businesses.

Any questions, send me an email at jgish@townofmiddlebury.org and I’ll cover it in my next update.

At the suggestion of Governor Phil Scott, I’ll be in Barre tomorrow meeting with community leaders to learn more about how they coped with their Main Street reconstruction project