Traffic on Summer Street has long been the subject of complaints, usually for vehicular volume of and rate of speed. Now it’s something else. The pavement.
Driving down Summer Street between Walnut and Progress brings to mind the stretch of Route 66 through Radiator Springs after an impounded Lightning McQueen tried to repave it too fast: the uneven, washboard surface will give anyone’s shocks a workout.
The good news, according to DPW Director John Stone, is that the newly patched surface is just temporary. Because the state closes down any road work on state highways after Nov. 15, the contractor replacing the town’s primary sewer main is racing to finish work on Route 123 before the deadline. So both project crews including the one that had been on Summer Street – are currently up on Brockton Avenue, working in trenches upwards of 14 feet deep to install the new mains.
Stone said within the next couple weeks the crews will come back, cold plane the temporary pavement covering the trench, and put down a smooth base coat that will last the winter. “It won’t be bumpy like it is now,” he said.
Next spring the entire stretch will be paved new “curb to curb.”
MEETINGS
MONDAY
Board of Health, 6 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes announcements about upcoming flu and COVID vaccine clinics, and a review of the existing bylaw prohibiting smoking in public spaces and workplaces to include e-cigarettes
Library Board of Trustees, 7 p.m., Library. Agenda includes a report from the library director, capital needs, and the FY 23 budget.
TUESDAY
Open Space Committee, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes discussions on the Open Space and Recreation Plan, the results of the Surplus Land Committee, and properties on Chestnut Street, Rockland Street, and Oakland Street,
Council on Aging, 6 p.m., Senior Center. Agenda includes the director’s report and a discussion on changing the meeting time.
Beaver Brook Playground Committee, 7:30 p.m., DPW Headquarters. Agenda includes a discussion about possible designs.
WEDNESDAY
Housing Authority, 6 p.m., 71 Shaw Avenue. Agenda includes approving bills.
Finance Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes FY 22 budget updates, preliminary FY 23 budget discussions, and status of FY 21 free cash certification.