Temporary Bridges Update #19
Monday Wrap-Up
Champlain Construction and Kubricky completed insulating the new section of the Main Street waterline, back-filled the area in front of Printers Alley, prepared the sidewalk in front of the National Bank of Middlebury for repaving, and generally cleaned up the construction work area on Main Street.
What’s on tap Tuesday: Main Street. If Monday’s water sample sent to a lab in Burlington meets State standards—we’ll know about 8 AM—Champlain Construction will connect the new section of the Main Street waterline to the Town’s water system. This operation will require an all-day shutoff of the Main Street waterline. I will advise those affected (see below) as soon as I have that info tomorrow morning. As I mentioned yesterday, the current traffic pattern and parking on Main Street will remain as is through the end of the week.
Alert: Main Street Waterline Shutoff Rescheduled for Tuesday. As noted above, If the latest water sample is approved, the Main Street shutoff will take place on Tuesday. The following buildings will be affected: 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. All of these businesses will be open as usual tomorrow and look forward to seeing you in town.
Signage: What’s Working, What Isn’t. As we wind down the first phase of construction and prepare for the late-July installation of the temporary bridges, I’ll be taking stock of the lessons learned in June. One area I think we can improve on is signage. For example, directions at each end of Printers Alley letting folks know how to get to Main Street from Marble Works and vice-versa. This is particularly important for visitors to our town. How do you think we could have improved signs in town directing vehicles and pedestrians during construction? Send me your thoughts via email or see me on the street and I’ll compile all of our thoughts for discussion with VTrans.
Looking Ahead. During the rest of the week, I’ll devote some space to what’s involved in the next phase of construction and what the impacts will be downtown.
Taylor Rental Provides Equipment to Contractor. Interesting to note that lead contractor Kubricky has rented much of its smaller equipment—e.g., compressor, generator, a walk-behind saw—from Middlebury’s Taylor Rental.
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.