Adams Roundabout Back on Track for 2014 Construction
A public hearing on the roundabout project was held in March and received public endorsement. Now the construction is penciled in to start in 2014. |
ADAMS, Mass. — Construction of a roundabout at the Route 8 and Friend Street intersection has been penciled back in for construction in 2014.
The project was nearly shelved after a $650,000 federal earmark was rescinded about six months ago. But town officials pleaded their case and the state Department of Transportation promised to find at least enough money to finish the design.
Still, construction was considered another few years away.
Now MassDOT has identified funds from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program for the construction and the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization has written it into the Transportation Improvement Plan for 2014 — back to when it was originally before the earmark was rescinded.
The redesign of the intersection at the town's north end has been considered critical to the development of the Greylock Glen.
The federal earmark had been eyed for the entire project — construction and design — for what was expected to be traffic signaling. But because the state now requires towns to consider roundabouts, and one was the best option there, construction costs increased to $1.5 million.
The roundabout will now use the funds that were previously identified for the extension of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail extension from Lime Street to Hodges Cross Road in North Adams. That won't be fully designed in time for 2014 construction dollars but it will utilize funds from the same federal program in a coming year.
"The Ashuwillticook was not ready to go for CMAQ so we swapped it with the roundabout," Transportation Planner Anuja Koirala said.
That amendment is now out for public comment and has yet to be formally adopted.
The TIP also includes $105,000 to complete the roundabout design for 2014. However, there is a shortfall because of design costs have increased to $146,000.
Originally the design was expected to cost $95,000 but because of the extra engineering work, that rose to $241,000. With the $95,000 previously spent and MassDOT's commitment of $105,000, there is a gap of about $41,000.
"MassDOT made a commitment to fund, from non-federal funds, the missing design funds," Nathaniel Karns, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's executive director, said on Tuesday. "If MassDOT can't find the $42,000 to supplement this, then something is amiss."
Clinton Bench, MassDOT deputy director of planning, said typically towns end up paying the difference. However, Adams Director of Community Development Donna Cesan said the public hearing and additional filings the state required had happened too late for the town to budget for it.
Cesan is working with Bench and other MassDOT officials to find close the gap. She said on Wednesday that all indications show that MassDOT will fund that difference — it is just a matter of where the money comes from. The design is already at the 75 percent stage.
"We would like to get the project to 100 percent design by the end of the fiscal year," she said.
Tags: BRPC, intersection, road project, roundabout,
