2019 Update #4

Winter Shutdown Arrives

As Thursday drew to a close, the construction zones that have hummed all year with activity in Triangle Park, Printer’s Alley, Riverfront Park, and Water Street north to the Battell Block fell silent.

Winter weather has now brought eleven months of construction, most of it focused on building a new stormwater drainage system in the central downtown, to a close.

Offsite though, in offices at VTrans, VHB, and Kubricky, other kinds of wheels are turning as plans are finalized for the 2019 and 2020 construction seasons. More on that in the weeks ahead.

Your Weekly Construction Update

On Monday Kubricky set in place the sizable concrete vault that will house the undergrounded electrical connections on the Marble Works side of the rail line. This structure, shown in the photo below, now sits just a few inches above ground.

Once the electrical vault was in place, ECI finished backfilling Receiving Pit 3 alongside the rail line in the Marble Works and installed additional pieces of the concrete drainage structure in the Launch Pit. (As I mentioned last week, because of winter weather, the Launch Pit will remain at its current elevation, partially backfilled, until Spring.)

Kubricky and ECI spent the latter part of the week tidying up the construction areas. Triangle Park and the Launch Pit/Receiving Pit 3 construction area alongside Printer’s Alley will remain fenced off during the winter and the equipment currently stored there, including the ever-visible crane, will stay in place.

On Deck

Good news for those who thought this week a wee bit on the cold side. Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in less than two weeks. Before our season begins this year, we’ll take a more in-depth look at the drainage system that we spent the year building and examine how it will work once operational in 2020. I’ll preview some late Winter/early Spring work that will take place once weather allows. And we’ll look ahead at the 2019 construction plan, what it involves and its impact on our town.

That’s all for today. See you downtown. Stay warm and stay safe.

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.