By Andy McKeever iBerkshires Staff | iBerkshires.com
Most of the work has been completed, it is just landscaping, signage, and fencing mostly left.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The multi-year North Street reconstruction is poised to be completed in November.
Work on the final phase of the streetscape project commenced in August 2015 and is on pace to conclude by the end of November. The section of the city’s main thoroughfare has been under construction from Madison Avenue and Columbus Avenue for the last phase this summer. That is the final piece in a decade-long rehabilitation of North Street.
“Much of the streetscape work has been completed at this point and we are on schedule to finish on time. The project should be completed by the end of November,” said Ryan Grennan, GIS coordinator with the city’s Engineering Department.
“At this point, markings and fencing are almost complete. Trees and landscaping are currently being planted. Most street signs still need to be installed (this will most likely happen in November). Inspections and punch list items will also take place in November.”
The final phase of the project is funded through a state MassWorks grant to the tune of $4.5 million. The engineering firm Fuss and O’Neill designed all four phases of the project focusing on traffic and pedestrian safety, improving traffic functions and sprucing up the overall appearance. The work includes bump outs at crosswalks, new lighting, flash beacons at unsignalized crosswalks, new sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and road resurfacing.
North Street has been seemingly under construction for years as the reconstruction project was divided into phases. The efforts were first cited in a 2005 master plan for the city. The work first began in 2009 with the renovation of Park Square, which included eliminating the rotary for $3.4 million and extended to Housatonic Street, for $1.8 million, in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Colonial Theater.
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