Warren Department of Public Works director Barry Simpson updated select board members on the status of the project at the August 9 meeting. Construction reduced a section of the road to a single lane for the past two weeks; a temporary stoplight was installed to enforce one-way traffic.
Simpson told town officials that the crew used two types of stone underneath the roadway and installed a drain encased in fabric with stone surrounding it. The drain was installed where water was coming out in what Simpson described as a “thick little stream.”
“Obviously it needed it,” Simpson said.
The select board held an emergency meeting on July 15 to approve hiring Dubois and King to repair the slump in the road. While the slump has existed for several years, the road sunk significantly in the past year, prompting the select board to take action.
The slump had to be fixed prior to the voter-approved paving project that town officials say could still be completed by October 15—depending on the slump repair.
On Town Meeting Day, voters unanimously approved Article 7 to fund the repaving project at a cost of $375,000. The project consists of paving an eight-tenths-of-a-mile section of road starting in the vicinity of Gold Hill Road and ending near Wheeler Brook.
Simpson told select board members that the engineers expect to be finished by next Wednesday and have the guardrails finished and the hill stabilized. The town highway department volunteered to haul 30 yards of stone to build the road back up to level.
Select board chair Andy Cunningham said, “If we give our permission to seed and mulch by August 15, we’re still in line to have it done by October 15 which is what we want; I hope and want them to get it done quicker.”
Simpson said he had discussed the possibility of working Saturdays with paving project engineer Mark Bannon. The next meeting of the Warren Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, August 23, at 7 p.m.
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