State Pothole Funds Helpful But Not Enough

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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Fixing potholes on Eagle Street in North Adams earlier this month.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Local officials are grateful for the state's release of some $30 million toward municipal road repairs — but it's not enough to fill all the potholes caused by this winter.

"The $66,000 won't really put a dent in it," Timothy Lescarbeau, North Adams superintendent of public services, said of the city's share of the extra Chapter 90 funding.

Cities and towns that have applied for the funding Pothole and Winter Recovery Program are receiving an amount determined by the Chapter 90 road funding calculations based on populations and miles of roadways.

The state Department of Transportation is distributing $40 million; $30 million is for towns and cities and the remaining $10 million is for repaving and maintenance of state roads.

Lescarbeau estimated that North Adams has incurred nearly $100,000 worth of road damage over this past winter.

The problematic areas include Union Street, Veterans Drive, Portland Street, Walker Street and Franklin Street.

"We are looking at completely repaving those areas because there are just too many potholes to fix," he said.

Adams interim Department of Public Works Superintendent David Nuvallie estimated that the town has more $70,000 worth of repairs to make this summer to the roads.

He said the state will provide Adams with $43,677 in aid.

"We are working on it now, but I don't know how much the money will help," Nuvallie said. "I have the two foreman working on it now."

Nuvallie said the most problematic areas in Adams are East Road and parts of Route 8, but he expected to have a more complete report soon.


Tags: Chapter 90,   potholes,   road work,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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