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Date: 9/25/2019
SOUTHWICK – After securing $2 million in funding, the Southwick Department of Public Works (DPW) is working to improve roads across the town over the next few years, according to DPW Director Randy Brown.
In May, town voters elected to dedicate $2 million in funds towards improving roads across Southwick. Brown said the department got to work right away on organizing the various projects. He added that the DPW received an additional $360,000 from the state through a chapter 90 grant.
The DPW website also notes the Congamond Road project is being funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and that it will cost around $4.1 million. The project began in the spring of 2018 but Brown said he is hoping that it will wrap up by the end of the year. Brown added that Pereira Construction out of Ludlow was awarded the project.
The DPW is also engaged in a major project for a new water main and pump station on Jarry Drive off of College Highway. Brown said, “The water main project has been in the works for several years so that did not come out of the $2 million, that’s a separate project paid for by the Water Users.”
Brown said the DPW will begin construction on one more project on Granville Road to improve drainage along with mill and overlay paving this week.
When it came down to deciding which projects the city was going to work on, Brown said he worked closely with the select board.
“I had a list of projects that I met with the select board with back in June, and they had their own list, so between our two lists we compared notes and whittled it down to our current projects,” he said.
Brown added that they have a list of projects that are slated to begin but some of the projects, including the Klaus Anderson Road bridge replacement project, are still in the design process with no scheduling planned yet.
According to Brown this set of projects is just the beginning for improving roads across Southwick.
“A couple years ago we developed a pavement management program to help us identify and prioritize these projects, so we’ll be using this program to identify future projects,” Brown said.
Southwick residents can stay up to date with DPW projects by logging onto the town’s website and navigating to the DPW page.