Drivers should expect detours while traveling in Shelburne and Buckland as a pair of construction projects get underway this week.

Shelburne

Phase 2 of the Bridge Street construction project, paid for by a Community Development Block Grant, is set to start this week and will be completed in July.

The project, which is being handled by Wilmington-based civil engineering firm GCG Associates, will impact the area of Bridge Street from Town Hall to its intersection with Mechanic Street.

“There will be an impact, there’s no question about it,” Mike Carter, president of GCG Associates, said during a meeting last week that outlined the scope of the project. “We want to impact you as little as possible.”

Utility work will be completed during the first month of construction. The company will dig 16 feet below the road and install a new sewer pipe. Currently, the sewer line runs across the Mechanic Street intersection, but there is no sewer hole there. A sewer hole will be placed in the street during construction.

During the day, traffic will be redirected via Cross Street. At night, a metal plate over the construction area will allow for vehicle passage. The parking lots parallel to Bridge Street will remain open during construction.

Once utility work is complete, the road will be reclaimed, graded and repaved.

The sidewalks on the north and south sides of Bridge Street will then be redone in four parts. While there is no set schedule yet, the construction company will communicate with business owners to do the work during convenient times for the shops.

Five trees, located in front of the Arms Library, Baker Pharmacy, Town Hall and Greenfield Savings Bank, will be removed to accommodate construction. Carter said the trees will be replaced once work is complete.

The construction company will then return in the fall.

“We will let it set before we do the final layer,” he said.

Buckland

The next phase of a $7.9 million Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) project started on Monday.

There will be two crews working at the same time to complete the project, with one being focused on sidewalks and the other on culverts along South Street between the town center and the Buckland-Conway border.

Town officials were warned that there will be a full detour around South Street for four weeks of construction between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., although they negotiated with the state Department of Transportation to open the road at night.

“The detour is incredibly inconvenient,” Town Administrator Heather Butler acknowledged during a recent Selectboard meeting.

The detour for the construction area follows Shelburne Falls Road to Wilder Hill Road, which turns into Baptist Corner Road in Ashfield. It then follows Bray Road back to the village area.

According to a post on the town website, local officials met with MassDOT to consider alternatives, but due to the width of the road and safety regulations for the use of heavy equipment, the closure is unavoidable.

Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.

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