Northampton DPW outlines $850,000 sidewalk program, targets Florence Road, Bedford Terrace and Route 9

Director LaScalia, Department of Public Works, told the Northampton Disability Commission that the city will reprogram roughly $850,000 originally set aside for the Hotel Bridge in Leeds and apply it to sidewalk repair and reconstruction across Northampton.

LaScalia said the Hotel Bridge rehabilitation became unaffordable after COVID and the city asked council to reassign the funds. “We had about $850,000, and we went to council a few months back, and we asked council to please reprogram the money that was supposed to go to the hotel bridge and that we were gonna do some sidewalk work around the city instead,” LaScalia said.

The DPW identified several priority projects. LaScalia said crews will reconstruct the sidewalk on Florence Road from Florence Heights to Pine Street and reconfigure the Scanlon Avenue intersection to shorten crossing distances. The department also plans improvements on the inbound side of Route 9 from Cooley Dickinson to the high school and full sidewalk reconstruction on both sides of Bedford Terrace, including work at the State Street/Bedford Terrace intersection.

LaScalia described a two‑pronged delivery approach: larger reconstruction projects and a new contract for “spot sidewalk repairs” to address tree‑related heaving and other localized hazards. She described Village Hill and neighborhoods off South Street as areas with many heaved panels and said the city will bid unit prices for concrete, structural soil, root pruning and specialty porous pavement that reduces future heaving. “Once I have those unit prices … I can then sort of mathematically back into, okay. Now how many locations can I go to?” LaScalia said.

In addition to the $850,000 reprogrammed funds, LaScalia said the mayor and council appropriated about $1 million for paving this year; DPW will mill and overlay 22 streets and will tie sidewalk work to many of those paving projects. She said the full slate of work will roll out over approximately 24 months. “Over the next, I would say, probably 24 months, you are gonna see sidewalk work in this city like we haven't seen in a really long time,” LaScalia said.

The presentation noted tradeoffs the department must weigh: mill‑and‑overlay projects typically do not include drainage or curb‑line changes, so adding a new sidewalk can convert a resurfacing into a full reconstruction with substantially higher cost. LaScalia and staff said that where curb‑line extensions or drainage work are required, the project scope (and budget) grows accordingly.

Commission members asked about project timing, locations and accessible design. Commissioners also suggested prioritizing sidewalks over other elements when choices must be made and asked DPW to clarify criteria for picking between sidewalks and bike lanes where right of way is constrained. LaScalia said sidewalks generally would be prioritized, but that physical right of way and fiscal tradeoffs influence decisions.

Clarifying details provided by DPW during the meeting included the approximate $850,000 reprogrammed from Hotel Bridge, a separate $1 million paving appropriation, 22 streets scheduled for mill and overlay this year, and a planning horizon of about 24 months for the larger program. DPW said it will advertise a unit‑price contract for concrete panels, structural soil and porous pavement to target dozens to hundreds of spot repairs depending on unit prices.

Commission members said they welcomed the scale of investment and asked DPW to share maps and timelines as projects move to construction.