ATHOL – A number of important infrastructure projects are on Athol Public Works Director Dick Kilhart’s to-do list for 2023.

Topping that list is the Pinedale Avenue Bridge, jointly owned by the towns of Athol and Orange. Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski announced at the Dec. 6 Selectboard meeting that a $1.7 million contract to reconstruct the bridge had been awarded to Construction Dynamics of Clinton.

“They have basically been given a notice to proceed to close the bridge just a bit earlier than originally planned,” said Kilhart in a Dec. 29 interview. “The state of Massachusetts notified us last week and said, ‘You must close that bridge now.’ It was our intention to close it on Feb. 1, so it’s not too far out of the realm of where we were going to be, but they came and did an additional inspection on it because of its reduced weight capacity. So, we put signboards up to let folks now – both Athol and Orange – that the bridge will be closed tomorrow.”

Until now, only heavy trucks have been instructed to take an alternate route to avoid the bridge, but Kilhart explained that vehicular traffic, a normal car or a small pickup, will no longer be able to go over it. Pedestrians should be able to traverse it until Construction Dynamics puts the fence up. Once the fence is up, access will be closed until the work is complete.

According to Kilhart, one reason for the early closure stems from the fact that many motorists have been ignoring the weight restriction of three tons.

“Three tons is 6,000 pounds. So if you’ve got a small pickup with a loaded trailer, you’re overweight,” he said. “And those people kept going over that bridge, and that’s why the state is closing it.”

Kilhart explained that new concrete arches for the bridge have already been ordered and should arrive at the worksite in about six months. He added that Bayside Engineering, the same firm that oversaw the Exchange Street Bridge project, did the engineering for the Pinedale span and expects this to really move along fairly quickly. Weather permitting, he said, work should be wrapping up this fall.

At last June’s annual Town Meeting, voters approved a Proposition 2 ½ debt-exclusion override of $2.5 million to pay for the Pinedale Bridge work, as well as repairs to the Fryeville Road Bridge and what is known as the Crescent Street Sluiceway. Kilhart said the town recently received word that a state grant to pay the full cost of the design work for the Crescent Street project had been approved. While it’s unlikely construction will get under way until 2024, design work should be completed this year.

In addition, Kilhart noted with obvious satisfaction, “Last week, we got an email – a notification letter from MassDOT – that they have initiated design work, through one of their selected engineers, to begin design on the Fryeville-Logan Avenue Bridge. That will be funded by MassDOT, handled by MassDOT, which is amazing for us here in Athol and Orange, because typically when the fund design they also move forward and fund the bridge project.”

While there are no guarantees, he said, “We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

Community development, water main projects proceeding

Another project Athol residents should see reach completion in 2023 is the Community Development Block Grant for the neighborhood of Walnut and Canal streets.

“It’s currently 90 percent complete,” said Kilhart. “It just needs a top course of pavement, which will be done this spring. So, people will see activity on Walnut, Union, and Canal. There will be some loaming and seeding, vegetation planting, trees, things of that nature; basically finish work we just couldn’t get to this year due to supply chain issues.”

February should see the town going out to bid for the water main project on Green and Kennebunk streets. Kilhart said that project is being paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

“I actually have the final design and specifications here on my desk for review,” he continued. “Our guys are reviewing them now; they came in at the end of last week. So we will sit down with our engineer – Wright-Pierce Engineering – just for a final review. Then we anticipate going to bid in February. That’s what the plan is.”

The date for turning the first shovel-full of dirt hasn’t yet been determined.

“We’d love to say, ‘Hey, that’s going to start in the spring.’ But we will give a notice to proceed relatively quickly once the bids come in, because ordering the pipe is where the holdup is,” he said. “Let’s say we award the contract at the end of February; we might not pipe until September. So, you can put a little bit of pipe in and all of a sudden, it’s wintertime again.

“So we’re going to have some temporary piping up there. You can’t really have temporary piping in New England because it gets cold and freezes. So there may be some challenges with construction, depending on how quickly the pipe can come – or not come.”

Kilhart said the project will provide redundancy in the feed lines to the town’s water tank. The existing feed line on Green Street, according to the DPW chief, dates back to 1888 – “and we’re all afraid of it. That water line is the lifeblood of the community of Athol, and we’re all nervous about it.”

If pipe arrives sooner than expected, say in May, the project could be completed by this time next year, said Kilhart. The overall cost of the project – including labor, materials, and $225,000 in contingency – is around $1.3 million.

“It’s going to be a busy time around here,” Kilhart concluded, “certainly for the DPW, the planning folks, and the administration. Things are happening.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

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