WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A busy summer construction season around town got a little busier this week with the advancement of two unrelated projects near the Williams College Museum of Art.

 

Both the entrance and exit to Lawrence Hall Drive are seeing some changes in the coming weeks.

 

Earlier this summer, the college removed several large juniper bushes near the east side of Lawrence Hall Drive (the exit onto Main Street) as part of a larger project to make the area more safe for pedestrians.

 

"The College is replacing broken and deteriorating sections of sidewalk that are a safety issue," Williams Horticulture and Grounds Manager Tim Roberts wrote in an email responding to an inquiry about the work. "The old junipers have been damaged over time and constantly need to be pruned back off the sidewalk.

 

"I will be replacing the junipers with a plant to be determined later. The walkway will be widened three feet using a crushed stone material to accommodate large trucks that use this entry."

 

Roberts said the existing junipers in the Town Green needed to be removed to allow for the sidewalk widening.

 

He said, depending on weather, that the project should take about two weeks.

 

This week, a different construction projection got under way on the other end of the Lawrence Hall Drive loop.

 

The college is rebuilding and expanding the existing BRTA bus stop at the site to also accommodate Peter Pan buses, which are set to change their route from the historical drop-off/pickup site in front of the former site of the Williams Inn on the Field Park rotary.