BRATTLEBORO — Work has barely begun, but there have been few complaints so far as the Main Street/Route 5 reconstruction project moves forward.
One indication of this came on Monday morning, as only six people showed up at the River Garden for an informal information meeting on the project.
Debra Spaulding, the public relations manager of Lane Construction Corp., said that with the bulk of the work being done at night, there have been few disruptions.
“We've done the pavement milling on Main Street, and we plan to start doing the leveling work by the end of this week,” she said.
Milling entails grinding up and removing the surface layer of pavement. Leveling is spreading an initial layer of asphalt on the roadway before a final coat is applied.
“The weather has been good, so we haven't have had to postpone anything,” she said. “We're right on schedule.”
If all goes well, all of the work should be completed by November, she said.
Spaulding said the only complaints she's heard so far are from one motorist who got a flat tire after hitting an exposed manhole cover and a couple of other motorists who got paint splattered on their cars from still-damp line markings.
“The caution signs are there for a reason,” said Spaulding. “Drive slowly, and if you see a 'wet paint' sign, try to stay off [the lines].”
Noise complaints have been few. “The loudest noise has been the back-up beeps on the trucks,” she said. “People have been surprised by how quiet the milling machines are.”
One of the main sources of concern to downtown businesses is the sidewalk reconstruction portion of the project. Spaulding said that work would be done during the day, and that it will begin next week.
“Contrary to what some have heard, the sidewalk work will be done one intersection at a time,” said Spaulding. “We're not going to be ripping up all the sidewalks at once.”
Spaulding said that in any place where work is being done, temporary access platforms will be set up. “There will never be a time that people won't be able to get through.”
According to Spaulding, Lane Construction has been working closely with Building a Better Brattleboro Executive Director Andrea Livermore to avoid conflicts with any special events downtown.
Since no work is done on Friday or Saturday evenings, and daytime work is completed by 5 p.m. each weekday, Spaulding said she doesn't expect that there will be conflicts.
Despite the sparse turnout at this week's meeting, Livermore said BaBB will continue to schedule weekly public meetings with Spaulding at the River Garden on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. To contact Spaulding, call 413-772-9912 or e-mail [email protected].