Adams Plans Route 8 Blight, Winter Street Reconstruction
The narrow street runs along the river between Hoosac Street and Summer Street. Plans for the street have been under consideration for nearly 15 years.
CDBG is a federally funded competitive grant program administered by the state. It can be used for activities that address blight, housing, beautification, demolition and economic development.
According to a report by Berkshire Regional Planning Commission 26.5 percent of the existing primary buildings in the area are physically deteriorated and include high vacancy, suspected contamination, abandoned properties, and decline in property value. The overall percentage of properties contributing to slum and blight is 32.1 percent.
The town will be applying for the maximum amount communities can receive, $950,000. The public hearing, required prior to submitting an application, will take place at the Select Board meeting on Wednesday. The deadline for fiscal year 2026 is April 21.
If approved, grant funds would be used to rehabilitate six housing units and complete a "big" construction project focused on Winter Street, said Donna Cesan, community development director.
"We've been talking about Winter Street for a long time," she said.
Currently, the Winter Street project is estimated to cost $760,000. The town will need to use Chapter 90 road funds because its expecting to get $550,000 to $600,000 from CDBG.
In 2011, graduate students at Conway School of Landscape Design developed concepts for the street and made a public presentation of a "lot of great ideas beyond the realm of funding," Cesan said.
"It has been a project for a long time in the community's mind. We carried the project as a priority project for the town in our Community Development Strategy, which we used to have to do every year as part of our Community Development Block Grant application," she said.
The town has been working with Amanda Bazinet, of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., for about a year on the road reconstruction.
"The main goals of this project are addressing the drainage issues, particularly in front of 12 Winter St., improving the pedestrian accommodations, which right now are lacking, they're narrow, they're cracked, there are big bumps in some areas, and then addressing the pavement condition," she said.
The engineering and design firm is proposing rehabilitation over 1,150 feet along Winter Street between Summer Street and Hoosac Street, Bazinet said.
The road is plagued with several issues that can no longer withstand temporary fixes, specifically filling in the potholes that quickly degrade because of numerous previous repairs, Cesan said.
The other big issue is the street's drainage. According to discussion with a resident of the street, it appears the super elevation has changed, directing water towards the building rather than away, she said.
"In 2014, BRPC actually did a report, and the pavement was considered poor 12 years ago, and obviously the condition has not improved in that era," Bazinet said.
Over time, repeated pavement additions to fill potholes have reduced the curb reveal, reducing the corridor, she said.
On the west side, along the Hoosac River, there is a sidewalk that is in poor condition and has been paved several times, Bazinet said.
"There's not much of a vertical separation between the vehicles and the pedestrians. That also has implications for not keeping the drainage in the roadway," she said.
From the intersection of Summer Street, the firm proposes a full-depth reconstruction for approximately 300 feet north, including the installation of a new monolithic concrete curb and sidewalk on the west side.
The curb reveal will have to vary because there are a lot of existing window wells and stairs that provide access to a building that needs to be maintained to ensure Americans With Disabilities Act compliance, Bazinet said.
The road profile will be lowered and super-elevated away from buildings to direct drainage toward the inside of the curb towards the catch basins, improving water flow and preventing flooding of buildings.
It also recommends converting Winter Street from the Summer Street intersection to one-way northbound.
"We're going to have a consistent 14-foot cross section. This would be a gravel area for vehicles, emergency vehicles, to turn around in, or any vehicles that got to the end of the two ways portion, which would begin here and head north," she said.
Existing parking for apartment residents along the street will be preserved.
"The drainage in the roadway and directed towards the catch basins, we are proposing a modified hot mix asphalt and asphalt berm, but the property owner has parking along that side of the street, so they'll be able to drive over that — continue to have full access," Bazinet said.
"We're not narrowing their gravel parking at all. Right now, they actually drive over a small cement concrete curb to get into their parking area. So, we're not really changing that condition much, but we're proposing that to make sure the roadway drainage stays in the roadway."
It also proposes installing new inlet and catch basins, including deep sumps and hoods, in addition to a new 12 inch reinforced concrete trunk pipe tying north to an existing outfall.
To the north, where the old pedestrian bridge was, they propose to do a mill and overlay of the existing pavement, maintain the existing drainage, make minor modifications and repairs, and do minor widening to make sure we have a consistent 18 foot wide cross section.
Along the riverside, there will be new concrete sidewalk and a 18-foot curb-to-curb road width that will continue all the way to the north, where it meets up with Hoosac Street, Bazinet said.
"We're not planning on touching any of the sidewalks or the intersection of Hoosac Street. Our limited work will be stopping on Winter Street," she said.
"In areas where there are driveways we will be rebuilding the aprons with new hot mix asphalt, and if we're disturbing any of the lawns in this area, we'll be replacing it with loam and seed."
Tags: CDBG, road project,
