ATHOL – Town Manager Shaun Suhoski this week issued an order to proceed on infrastructure improvements along Canal and Lumber streets, just west of Lord Pond Plaza.

The town has contracted with A. Martins & Sons Construction of Ludlow to do the work at a cost of $1.033 million, which will be covered by a $1.3 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awarded in August.

“We’re looking to start at the end of September with a temporary water main,” said Assistant Public Works Director Paul Raskevitz. “They’ll put in a plastic, above ground, four-inch water main. They’ll run that through the whole job site, then they’ll disconnect everybody’s meters from the permanent water main that’s underground and hook up the temporary main to small, plastic service lines (to neighborhood homes and businesses). Then they’ll replace the water main and all the services this year.”

Work on the water main, said Raskevitz, is likely the bulk of the what will be completed before the end of the year.

“That’ll be the sewer main, water main, the removal of the temporary main, and then temporary trench patching for the winter,” he said. “That way, the new main can sit and pressurize in service underground, in case there’s any quality errors with any of the pieces of pipe or service lines. That way, if there is a leak and they have to dig for it in the spring, they’re not digging new blacktop.”

Raskevitz said the temporary patch will be done with asphalt, so streets can be plowed over the winter. Depending on what the weather is like heading into winter, he added, the reconstruction of the retaining wall at Lumber and Canal streets might be done before the worst of winter sets in.

“You may even see us line the sewer mains this winter,” Raskevitz continued, “because that can be done year ‘round.”

Next spring, Canal and Lumber streets will undergo “full-depth reclamation,” said Raskevitz, which will include paving. The assistant DPW chief said new sidewalks will be installed prior to the road work getting underway. The entire project, he said, should be completed by late spring or early summer.

The contractor for the project, A. Martins & Sons, has done work on several CDBG-funded projects for Athol, including Green and Kennebunk streets last summer, as well as the area of Walnut and Union streets.

The town learned in July that it had landed another CDBG grant in the amount of $950,000 to undertake a similar project along a 1,100-foot section of South Street and a portion of Freedom Street. That project still needs to go out to bid and work won’t begin until next year.

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