Upcoming paving on the east side of the Main Street Corridor is the last big step of the major construction project that first broke ground in 2021. As work begins to draw down, there are a number of smaller projects slated for completion before town officials and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation can consider the project finished.

The Independent recently spoke with Town Manager Elaine Lazarus and construction manager Nicole Bratsos about what’s left for the Main Street Corridor Project and the impact of the effort to rehabilitate downtown.

Final paving, Bratsos explained, was slated to begin Aug. 17 and was anticipated to take up to three days to complete. The area being paved stretches from the fire station to Ray Street. 

Following that work, crews will finish up the bike lanes and complete painting associated with both the lanes and crosswalks, according to Bratsos. Contractors also will complete striping throughout the project. The construction manager noted that the bike line has associated lights that need to be installed at the crossing between Main Street and Grove Street, along with related signage.

“We also have landscaping that needs to happen,” said Bratsos. Landscapers already have been out to check and trim vegetation, she noted. Several trees installed last year that did not survive will be replanted in the fall. 

Other items on the docket include finishing the sidewalks and related curbing, repairing areas where utility poles used to be, fixing a manhole issue by Hiller’s Cleaners, lighting at the island with the doughboy statue and reinstalling some signs and monuments.

“We have a lot of small items … that will need to be done,” Bratsos said.

She added that one project — stamping concrete on the corners of Town Common — is waiting on an approval from the Historical Commission.

MassDOT is working with the town to review these items as they are completed. The agency will do walkthroughs with town officials to determine final punch lists to wrap up the remaining work and close out the project. 

Bratsos said that while there isn’t a specific project completion deadline, the best information available from MassDOT suggests that it should be finished sometime in October.

Project impacts still unfolding

“We’re so close to completion,” Lazarus said of the Main Street project. “It’s looking great.”

The town manager expressed confidence in the renovations, noting the project’s goals included improving the appearance of downtown and safety for pedestrians and cyclists. She highlighted the installation of a crosswalk near Town Hall and shared her perspective that this has made navigating downtown safer, especially for town employees. 

However, the overall effect of the construction is yet to be seen, Lazarus suggested. “It’s hard to say if activity [downtown] has changed because there’s still construction going on,” she said. “I think we’ll see more of that when we’re done.”

Lazarus and Bratsos both recommended residents go online to the Main Street Corridor Project website to view the time-lapse videos of the project since it began in 2021. They said that while the cameras were taken down when the utility poles came down last year, the videos provide a glimpse into how much downtown has improved.

In all, the project encompasses a stretch of Main Street just under a mile that extends from the Wood Street intersection to Ray Street. MassDOT has paid $11.5 million for the project while the town has spent around $9 million, according to Bratsos. Much of the town’s portion came from moving utilities underground and other items not in MassDOT’s scope.

Bratsos said one of the “big things” that has come out of the project is moving the utilities underground. “Now that the utility poles have come down, it has improved the look of downtown greatly,” she said.

Lazarus agreed, adding that some of the old utility poles used to be in the road itself.

While it has changed the look of downtown, the underground utility installation also resulted in delays. Bratsos said that a shortage of transformers in 2022 and 2023 meant it took longer for Eversource to put its lines underground. Because all other utilities had to follow Eversource, this extended the project timeline.

The town now will work to maintain downtown with the Department of Public Works taking the lead, Lazarus noted. “They’ll resume maintenance of the infrastructure,” she said, adding that the DPW also will manage all the additional landscaping added to Main Street.