Town Engineer Updates on Local Projects

Town Engineer, Tom Hayes, is a busy man. Especially during these summer months, Hayes and his crew at the DPW have a lot on their plate concerning water main and drainage construction, fixing a pumping station, and paving, lots and lots of paving.

Starting with the Francis Wyman Water Main Construction, Hayes detailed: “We recently installed a new 12 inch water main from Cedar down to Bedford Street […] The old one's were a 10 inch asbestos pipe with most of the pipes having been in the ground for 50 years […] We needed to improve the infrastructure.”

Hayes explained that replacing the old, 10 inch pipe with the new 12 inch will improve water quality, quantity and generally re-enforce the water main network below Burlington.

“Our biggest project this year is probably the Terrace Hall pumping station improvements,” continued Hayes. “It's being completely renovated and we are installing about 11,000 feet of force [water] mains. Right now it runs through Well Field and discharges over on Bedford Street which isn't a great place for it. It's also been in the ground since the mid-sixties. We are going to run the [water] mains outside of Well Field and into South Bedford Street which is a more accessible area, so fifty years from now, if they have problems with it, it will be much more easily accessible."

Hayes said the price tag on this project is roughly $6 million.

The third major project that the Engineering Department is handling this Summer is the Third Avenue/Middlesex Turnpike Reconstruction.

“This is a reconstruction of Third Ave. for a traffic light and creating a round-about type rotary on the corner of Third and Second Ave.,” explained Hayes. “We also fixed two traffic lights at Middlesex Turnpike […] This was a public and private investment in the town.”

Burlington was helped out on this project by the Nordblom Company, a real estate enterprise that helped in securing a $2 million dollar state grant for the town and then funding the extra $1 million dollars needed to complete the project.

“It didn't cost the town a penny,” detailed Hayes, speaking on the cost of the reconstruction.

The benefit for Nordblom is that the new construction will be a better gateway for people trying to reach their privately owned, Northwest Park, and spur economic development for the company.

Briefly, Hayes mentioned the new practice at Pine Haven Cemetery for Double Deep Vaults. A Double Deep Vault is exactly what it sounds like, a plot twice as deep that can store one casket on-top of the other to save on space. Hayes also mentioned that a columbarium (a special place for ash burials) will also be constructed at the cemetery.

Finally, paving during the Summer/Fall months, from June through November, is common in town. Paving during the Summer/Fall occurs because you can only pave the streets at 55 degrees and above. There are dozens of streets that will get new asphalt which will keep Hayes and the DPW busy in-between projects. Here's a map of all the streets that will be paved in town this Summer.

Before leaving, Hayes also instructed Patch to the general overview section of the town's website that details all the construction projects going on during any given week. This information is useful for anyone wanting to avoid traffic delays or get a heads up on detours caused by town construction. Click here to view the weekly construction project updates.

For more information on the Town Engineering Department, please visit their website by clicking here.