Job that bedeviled I-91 neighbors near end

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - All that lies between a "nightmare" road project and clear sailing on an Interstate 91 bridge - and on East Street below - is the planting of grass seed and a bit of paving.

The much-reviled job, which dragged on for more than three years, exceeded its budget and has been blamed for several highway accidents, is expected to wrap up by the end of next week.

This news is music to the ears of city officials, but was met with skepticism from some East Street residents, who said many missed deadlines make them wary of any promises from the state about when the project will be finished.

Richard Nangle, a spokesman for the state's Department of Transportation, said Monday that a bit of paving and the sowing of some grass seed are the only steps left before the work is complete. There will be sidewalk construction in the coming weeks, he said, but that work is not expected to interfere with vehicle traffic.

"The work on the I-91 bridges is already complete. The contractor will be completing the final paving on East Street next week," said Nangle. "He still needs to hydroseed' the embankment, but has been holding off on that since it has been so dry."

The paving of East Street, which runs below the I-91 overpass, will take place Aug. 4, Nangle said, with line-striping expected the following day. Both tasks, Nangle said, will take place during normal work hours and will require alternating one-way traffic as they are being completed.

Although it was originally scheduled to be completed last October, design errors and construction problems brought work to a stop for spells. The delays forced MIG Corp., the project's Acton contractor, to request a series of extensions in order to finish the $11.4 million task of replacing the bridge over East Street with a three-span, steel girder bridge.

Wary reaction

Annie Larochelle, whose 25 East St. home is at the heart of the construction zone, said she finds it hard to believe that the project is nearing completion after watching it wear on from her window for more than three years.

What with the noise and dust kicked up by the construction, Larochelle said, her family found living near the project a "nightmare." She said she heard countless accidents caused by Jersey barriers funneling I-91 traffic past the site.

"We had to choose between going through Holyoke or Northampton to get home because there was no other way," Larochelle said. "There was a ton of noise, bright lights came in through the windows and I can't even tell you how many accidents we heard."

Jacqueline Sienkiewicz, 50, of 51 East St., said her children can't remember a time before construction and predicted a block party will be scheduled if the end is really near.

"We haven't been able to use the bike path in three years," Sienkiewicz said. "The noise, lights and traffic near our house was unbelievable."

In addition to lights coming in through her children's windows at night, Sienkiewicz said night construction took place during the spring when they would be studying for school tests. Bad language used by both motorists and construction workers made living next door to the project difficult.

"What we've found from living near this is that deadlines don't matter," Sienkiewicz said. "The state is going to do what they want at the pace that they have been going at for the last three years now."

Local DPW Director Joseph I. Pipczynski said he, too, is eager for the project to wrap up.

"This is going to be a relief for the city and a relief for the DPW to not have to deal with this," Pipczynski said. "It is going to be such a pleasure not to have a one-lane road through that site. Providing two lanes of traffic under the bridge will be great."

When seeking an extension last September, MIG Corp. detailed nearly a dozen problem areas in which the company cited the loss of 463 working days on the job dating back to April 2007, according to correspondence.

MIG Corp.'s last request for more time in April was the result of what the state refers to as "constructability issues" related to the earlier project design changes.

In all, the project called for demolishing the existing overpasses and constructing two new bridge structures, superstructures, piers, abutments and roads on I-91 north and south over East Street.

Below the overpass, work included a full-depth reconstruction of East Street, including drainage, curbing, signs, pavement marking, as well as the implementation of environmental and traffic safety controls.

For more information about the Department of Transportation or updates on the project, residents are encouraged to visit the department's website: www.massdot.state.ma.us.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com