Town in shambles due to reconstruction

Author: Emily Thompson

Moving in last weekend, first-year families and returning upperclassmen faced ongoing construction not only on-campus, but off as well.

Construction accidents on College Street this summer caused disruptions in local telephone and water service, and delayed the project's anticipated completion. A ledge found during construction in the path of the main water and storm drain further contributed to the complications.

When the dust settles, contractors and the town, hope for better water lines, sewers and storm drains. Project leaders expect to wrap up work on College Street by mid-October, according to a memo from Town Manager William Finger. Although the construction has posed some inconveniences for students, Julia Deixler '09 said, "One month of construction is a small price to pay in order to have proper sewers. It is not the end of the world. It is just construction."

Final paving of the street will not occur until summer of 2007.

The College Street improvements are the most visible of a series of capital projects running from Hannaford on Rte. 7 to the College Library. Town planners aim to improve the village infrastructure, ease traffic flow, maintain parking availability and enhance pedestrian comfort and safety, according to a letter from Finger dated August 17.

"Our historic downtown was situated and designed for horse and buggy traffic," wrote Finger. "Today's traffic consisting of seventeen thousand or more motorized, heavy vehicles per day was never contemplated by the designers of Battell Bridge or those who concentrated commercial enterprise around the waterpower provided by the falls."

Although the rain in May and June of this year stalled the projects in the beginning, the construction throughout town is now in full swing and is expected to be completed next summer.

While less inconvenient for Middlebury students, the Court Street improvements are the most technologically ambitious. Construction on Court Street aims to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety in the town-fully funded by the town's recent "Safe Routes to School" federal grant award to improve safety for children walking or biking to school. Marked pedestrian controlled crossings with flashing caution lights and signals to passing vehicles will be placed along the road, according to Finger.

Sections of the sidewalks will gain handicapped access ramps and raised pedestrian islands, and the new system of traffic signals should increase traffic flow.

The $1.3 million project includes "loop detectors" that change only when cars are present, instead of following fixed cycles. There are also plans to create a left turn lane heading south on Court Street. The present northbound only lane towards Washington Street will be shortened.

Despite the construction at this point, the town looks forward to even more improvement in the future. The town and the Select Board rejected the state of Vermont's original proposal to improve overpasses over the Vermont Railway on both Main Street and Merchants Row, which have been deteriorating for quite some time. However, renovation and/or replacement would horribly strain the rest of the infrastructure downtown.