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From local politicians to engineers, the people who have been working on the new mall road got together to cut the ribbon and open the road up for traffic.

New Mall Road Opens In Lanesborough

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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U.S. Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, said the project was a great use of stimulus money.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass.— It may have been a long and bumpy journey but local officials finally have opened a revamped mall road.

The road that connects Route 7 and Route 8 was reconstructed with $6.3 million in federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and serves as one of the few connections between the two major routes.

The road has been under construction since 2008 and on Wednesday local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to cap off the work.

Last year the main section of the road was opened and Wednesday the second part of the project, which is a new connection to Route 8, was completed. Nearly 50 people crowded the sidewalks for the opening ceremony.

"What a good thing this is as a use for the recovery and reinvestment act monies...Things like this are done all over the country and have put a lot of people to work," U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, said. "I am quite certain Berkshire County will use this new transportation facility quite often."

The road was originally built in 1987 and had eroded into a very bumpy ride. At one point ambulance drivers began avoiding it. The renovation strengthened the road to endure heavy traffic flows and officials expect it to serve the county for many years.

"When you drive over this road, remember this is a road for Berkshire County," project spokesman Mark Siegars said. "This road will never look like that again."

Renovating it became a political battle between the town, Pittsfield and the neighboring businesses. Eventually, the stimulus money got the project rolling.

"This road is a story," Siegars said. "It's a story of individuals. It's the story of businesses and the story of Berkshire County."

The renovation finally came to fruition after officials from the federal down to the local level battled for funding. The town gave out plaques to many people – from engineers to politicians – responsible for getting the shovels in the ground.

"This road has been a godsend for the town of Lanesborough and whether they'll admit it or not, the city of Pittsfield too," Board of Selectmen Chairman William Prendergast said. "There was a lot of time and effort put into this."

Olver said the road came in 25 percent under budget and the remaining money is going toward other construction projects.

Tags: stimulus,   

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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships

LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock. 
 
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
 
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
 
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). 
 
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
 
 MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities. 
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