Temporary Bridges Update #5
Wednesday Wrap-Up
Nicholson, the drilling contractor, spent much of the day prepping its drilling rig and then set the first of six planned minipiles in the eastbound lane of Main Street between 4 and 5 in the afternoon.
(For the curious, each minipile consists of three 10-foot-long steel casings augured 30 feet below Main Street. The casings, in this first instance, passed through about 22 feet of earth and then 7 feet of ledge.)
As planned, Kubricky cleared the handful of trees in the railroad right of way adjacent to the Main Street waterline.
Post Office Update
I asked Postmaster Joe Laramie whether the Post Office facility on Exchange Street could handle customer traffic during this phase of the project (thanks to the reader who suggested this). Joe let me know that Exchange Street, as a mail-processing facility, just isn’t set up for customer service. The good news is that we should start to see at least some parking restored on Main Street starting early next week. Thanks for bearing with us.
Speaking of Parking
On the topic of parking, as I mentioned yesterday, if you’re parking on Main Street please treat the seven spaces north of the crosswalk connecting the P.O. to the Village Green and the three in front of the Community House as 30-minute parking as a courtesy to others who need to get to the P.O. and elsewhere in town. To reinforce this request, the Department of Public Works has posted a 30-minute parking sign in front of the spaces on the Village Green side of Main Street (thanks to another reader who made this suggestion).
St. Stephen’s Update
The section of sidewalk on Main Street that leads from the front entrance of St. Stephen’s to the crosswalk connecting to the P.O. is now clear and fully open to pedestrians. Thanks to Susan McGarry for pointing out the need.
What’s on Tap Thursday
On Thursday, Nicholson expects to drill the remaining five minipiles on the St. Stephen’s side of Main Street and then fill them with grout. I stood 20 yards away from the drilling rig during the drilling of the first minipile today and could carry on a normal conversation. Let me know how you’re doing with the noise.
Printers Alley To Close at Noon
Kubricky will close Printers Alley to vehicular traffic as of noon Thursday, a little earlier than the planned closure of Friday morning. As has been widely reported, Printers Alley will now remain closed to vehicles for the duration of the project. Printers Alley will remain open to pedestrians, who should find the walk up the roadway from Marble Works to Main Street safer without having to contend with vehicles. All drivers should now use the Middle Seymour Street entrance to the Marble Works.
Waterline Shut-Off Update
A final date for the brief shutoff of the Main Street waterline has not yet been set but is likely to be Monday or Tuesday of next week. I do have more info on which buildings will be affected. Buildings that will be shut off include all of the north side of Main Street from the Battell Bridge to the Post Office plus St. Stephen’s. The Middlebury Water Department will be in touch with customers in advance, and I will report on the timeline here.
I will be in Montpelier Thursday afternoon at the Federal Highway Administration reviewing progress toward a final Environmental Assessment document. Please keep your comments and questions coming. Send me an email at jgish@townofmiddlebury.org and I’ll cover it in my next update.