Williamstown Building Move to Disrupt Roads, Power
 |
|
 |
The Mather House, an 1840 structure being transferred from the ownership of Williams College to Vincent Guntlow, is ready for its trip. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The relocation of Mather House will require road closures beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 17.
The 1840 structure built by Benjamin Mather is slated to be relocated from Stetson Court on the southeast portion of the college's campus to 63 North St., where Vincent Guntlow plans to use the building for a mixture of residential and office space.
Williamstown Police plan to close Main Street (Route 2) to vehicles at about 8 a.m. on Monday when the house is scheduled to make a left-hand turn toward the Field Park rotary.
Motorists traveling west on Main Street with plans to take Cold Spring Road (Route 7 South and Route 2 West) should plan to take Water Street (Route 43) toward the Five Corners intersection.
Motorists planning to take Main Street to North Street (Route 7 North), will be directed via Cole Avenue to North Hoosac Road.
The same detours will be used in the reverse directions.
Williamstown Police will be stationed at four intersections to assist drivers: Main and Park Street, Park Street and Whitman Street, Whitman Street and North Street and Main Street and North Street.
The period of the road closures is unknown because transporting the building requires the temporary removal of utility wires at three points along the route: Stetson and Main Street, Main Street and North Street and North Street and Lee Terrace. Residents and businesses can expect temporary disruptions to electricity, phone and cable service during the move. The only planned power outage will occur along North Street from Field Park to, and including, Lee Terrace, but the exact times depending on the situation.
"It is expected that all roads will open and normal traffic flow will resume in less than eight hours," Police Chief Kyle Johnson wrote in an email announcing plans for the move.
Mather House has been moved several times during its history, according to the college's website. It previously stood at the corner of Park Street and Main Street but was moved to make way for Faculty House/Alumni Center. In 2002, Mather House was moved from another Main Street location to make way for the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, the facility best known as home to the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Guntlow, the principal of a North Street engineering firm, has been preparing the site at the corner of North Street and Lee Terrace since receiving the blessing of a the town's Zoning Board of Appeals in late September.
Tags: big move, historic preservation, historical building,
