The reconstruction of College Highway has been in planning since the 1990s.
SOUTHWICK – The first of three phases of a long-awaited multi-million reconstruction of College Highway (Routes 10 and 202) that will redefine the main travel corridor through town is scheduled to begin next week.
Phase I from Town Hall to Tannery Road, about 1.5 miles, will be reconstructed to include a third lane, bring new drainage, lighting and traffic controls at a cost of about $5 million. The project will include sidewalks on both sides of the road.
It is being funded by state and federal transportation agencies.
“This project has been in the planning since the early 1990s when I was on the Planning Board,” Selectmen chairman Fred B. Arnold said Thursday.
“It has taken on different forms over the years but the ultimate goal is to improve our downtown area. The project made bring a little inconvenience, but hopefully the impact on our businesses will be minimized,” said Arnold.
“This is a project that needs to get done,” Arnold said.
Town engineer Richard T. Grannells said addition of a new center lane will allow for left turns without impeding traffic flow.
“We have worked long and hard on this project negotiating the design,” Grannells said.
Completion date for Phase I is August 2012, he said.
Town officials held a series of public meetings on the project in 2003 that involved representatives of the state Department of Transportation. Those meetings resulted in the addition of a third lane, sidewalks and better traffic controls.
Also scheduled to begin shortly is a $3 million project to widen and rebuild Johnson Brook Bridge located near the Notch Travel Center, Grannells said. That is also being funded by the federal and state agencies.
Town officials are not sure when Phase II and III will begin. Grannells said the state DOT is currently designing those projects.
Eventually, College Highway from Westfield to the Connecticut border will be reconstructed.
Grannells and Arnold said Palmer Paving Inc., the general contractor for Phase I, will ensure access remains open to all businesses located along the stretch of road being reconstructed.
“This is a great project for Southwick,” Grannells said.