Temporary Bridges Update #16
Wednesday Wrap-Up
Nicholson loaded out its remaining equipment on Merchants Row as planned and Kubricky completed most clean-up of the construction area. Champlain Construction completed a successful pressure test of the new section of the Main Street waterline.
What’s on Tap Thursday: Merchants Row. In preparation for the installation of the temporary bridge, Rutland-based Trees Incorporated will remove a few trees from the railroad right of way on the Village Green side of Merchants Row near the ACTR shelter (which has now been removed). Merchants Row traffic will remain one-way eastbound (up the hill) on Thursday. A few additional parking spaces have opened up in the upper stretch of Merchants Row: I counted 18 spaces this afternoon, including the handicapped spot in front of Bourdon Insurance. Two-way traffic on Merchants Rows, along with all parking, should be restored by the weekend.
What’s on tap Thursday: Main Street. A quiet day on Main Street as a water sample is sent to a lab in Burlington for testing. Note: The waterline being tested has not yet been connected to the Town’s system. That will likely happen on Monday (see below). The current traffic pattern and parking on Main Street will remain as is into next week.
Alert: Final Main Street Waterline Shutoff Scheduled for Monday. Champlain Construction expects to tie the new section of the Main Street waterline into the existing system on Monday. This will require an all-day shutoff of water on Monday to the following buildings: the Post Office, the National Bank of Middlebury, St. Stephen’s, IPJ Real Estate, the Vermont Bookshop, Main Street Stationery, Sweet Cecily, Danforth, and Wild Mountain Thyme. The water shutoff will likely take place around 9 AM Monday and last the entire day. I will have more precise info on Monday morning. The Post Office, St. Stephen’s, and all of these Main Street businesses will be open and look forward to seeing you in town on Monday!
North Pleasant Street Sidewalk Project Starts Thursday. The Department of Public Works has asked me to let you know that reconstruction of the sidewalk on the Congregational Church side of North Pleasant Street will start tomorrow. This is a relatively short project but it will require closing down parking on the Congregational Church side of North Pleasant Street from the intersection with Seminary Street up to Main Street. This is a Town project and is separate from our rail/bridge project.
Coming Sunday: Foodaroo! As I mentioned in our Tuesday update, the third annual Foodaroo festival takes place in Marble Works this coming Sunday, June 25, from 4 to 8 PM. Here’s what the organizers say about this event: “Presented by Middlebury UndergrounD (MUD), Foodaroo unites the state’s most talented culinary artisans and beverage makers, with an emphasis on Addison County and Chittenden County vendors and farms. From food trucks to brick-and-mortar operations, this outdoor event showcases creative, locally-sourced cuisine. Attendees taste their way through a huge diversity of vendors while musicians, street performers, cooking competitions, dancers and more showcase the best of Vermont’s thriving maker movement.” Printers Alley will remain closed this weekend. You can get into Marble Works via Middle Seymour Street or, on foot or bicycle, via the pedestrian bridge across the Otter Creek. You can find out more about Foodaroo at the following link: https://www.middunderground.org/foodaroo
Final Note. Assistant Town Manager Chris English will be pinch-hitting for me on Friday’s update.
Please keep your comments and questions coming. Send me an email at jgish@townofmiddlebury.org and I’ll try to cover it in my next update.