Pittsfield City Council Accepts Grant To Redesign BMC Area
 Commissioner Bruce Collingwood explained the project to the City Council on Tuesday. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council accepted a $349,997 grant from the state Department of Transportation on Tuesday to start redesigning the intersections near Berkshire Medical Center.
The grant calls for a 20 percent match from the city's Chapter 90 allocation and will get the project to 25 percent design.
The 25 percent design phase will investigate the options, environmental concerns and property takings needed for the project. Another round of funding will craft the construction plans.
"Phase 1 work has to be done to find out the impact on any property affected," said Commissioner of Public Utilities Bruce Collingwood."I would expect that we would probably get to 25 percent design by this fall."
The city is matching funds of $90,000 for the first phase and $82,000 for the second through the state Chapter 90 program.
The project has been a long time in the making since being cited eight years ago as a priority to improve traffic circulation. The project has just now come to the top of the list with MassDOT footing the majority of the bill. The construction is expected to cost $6 million, coming from federal sources allocated by the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization.
"It's target money that comes to the county and the MPO decides where to go with the money," Collingwood said.
The construction is not expected to require a match. City Councilor Kevin Morandi, however, questioned whether the design is the best use of the city's highway money.
"With so many streets that have to be done in the city and there is only so many streets we can do," he said of the particularly poor condition of the roads after the winter. "I, myself, would rather take that money and take care of what we've got first."
Nonetheless, the council approved accepting the funds.
In other business, the councilors referred a request from Mayor Daniel Bianchi to bond $2.7 million for new school buses to the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will discuss the issue on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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Tags: BMC, intersection, road work,
