Wind Damage Likely Will Not Delay Williamstown Fire Station Project

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Recent wind damage at the new fire station's construction site will not cost the taxpayers any money and likely will not impact the project's timeline.

 

On Thursday morning, the district's construction consultant said the project's construction manager has a plan to resequence the schedule to make up for the time it needs to reconstruct wooden trusses knocked down by the wind over the weekend.

 

Bruce Decoteau, a retired senior project manager from Williams College, has been advising the Prudential Committee, which oversees the fire district, since the outset of the $22.5 million building project.

 

Decoteau said there are no cameras on site that recorded the damage, but the best guess from construction manager Consigli Construction is that the damage occurred at some time on Sunday evening.

 

According to the National Weather Service, the average wind speed in Bennington, Vt., the closest data point, was 15.1 mph with the highest recorded gust at 46 mph as of 4:43 Sunday afternoon.

 

"I got a photo early Monday morning advising me they had blown over," Decoteau said on Thursday.

 

Decoteau said the damage should have minimal or no impact on the project timeline, which currently has the Fire Department moving into the Main Street station at the end of the calendar year.