2019 Update #34

A Quick Trip West, Another Week of Construction

California. There are many reasons to visit The Golden State but one of the best, for me, took place this past week when I flew to Los Angeles to meet our four-week-old grandson Devon and to spend time with his two-year-old brother Everett.

These two little fellows are the latest Californians in a Gish family line that reaches back to my great-grandfather’s decision to leave Missouri and head west to work the Southern California orange groves. He might be surprised to learn that his great grandson took a very different path to land in Vermont.

Speaking of which, after a week driving in LA, I’ve resolved never again to complain about the traffic on Route 7 South. And what a delight it was to return to rain and Fall weather!

With that, let’s review what took place while some of us were feeding the giraffes at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Your Weekly Construction Update

Maine Drilling & Blasting continued installing minipiles north of the Main Street Bridge. That work should finish up by week’s end and then next week this crew will be joined by a second Maine D&B drilling crew to install minipiles on the Triangle Park and St. Stephen’s side of the rail corridor in between the two bridges.

To date, 145 of the planned 330 minipiles have been installed.

Line drilling continues in the vicinity of the Main Street Bridge to prepare for the next blasts scheduled for mid-October.

On the south end of the project, Kubricky continued working on the northern segment of the new sewer line near the pump station below the Battell Block. Work on the new sewer line will continue next week and a second Kubricky crew will begin work installing a new stormwater drainage system that will also sit behind South Pleasant Street. That crew will work from Cross Street Bridge north during the course of the week.

Also this past week, as planned, ECI shifted some 670 feet of the downtown rail line as it passes underneath the downtown bridges to the west side of the abutment to create room to install minipiles on the eastern side.

Notes from Around Town

This weekend Bundle, Middlebury’s pop-up store now relocated to 51 Main in the Battell Block, hosts two interesting events. Friday evening from 5:00 – 7:00 PM you’ll have the opportunity to sample and buy some of the area’s tastiest products courtesy of Addison County Cheesemakers and the Middlebury Tasting Trail.

Then on Saturday and Sunday, the Vergennes-based shop Waypost brings its curated selection of locally made and reclaimed goods to Bundle between Noon and 7:00 PM. Vinyl records, vintage clothing, plants, ceramics . . . you’ll definitely want to browse this eclectic collection.

Also on Friday from 5:00 – 7 :00 PM, the Henry Sheldon Museum hosts a reception to celebrate the opening of two new exhibits. “Conjuring the Dead: Spirit Art in the Age of Radical Reform” presents spirit photographs and original spirit artwork acquired in the 19th century by Addison County legislator and sheep farmer Solomon Wright Jewett.

The second exhibit, “the animals are innocent,” features ceramics and paintings by artist Dana Simpson, who will be at the reception. More info on the event can be found here. The reception is free and open to the public.

Porter Medical Center’s contribution to our Summer and Fall walking challenge continues next Tuesday, October 1, at Mary Hogan with a brief talk by Porter Physical Therapist Dayton Contois on the topic, “Easy-To-Do Active Stretches.” Things get underway a little earlier than past sessions, at 4:45 PM.

That’s all for today. See you downtown.

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.