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Gardner advances Park Street sidewalk and Crystal Lake Drive paving; utility moves will determine timing
Summary
Gardner City is advancing sidewalk and bike-path work on Park Street and Crystal Lake Drive but utility relocations will determine when final paving and concrete work occur, the mayor said.
Gardner City is advancing a multi-part infrastructure effort that includes finishing a new Park Street sidewalk, installing an ADA ramp at Mackie Park and paving Crystal Lake Drive to complete a local bike-path connection, the mayor said. Progress on the Park Street sidewalk depends on utility companies moving wires to new poles; where wires remain, pavement sections are temporarily asphalt and will be replaced with concrete once poles and wires are relocated.
Why this matters: The projects affect pedestrian access, an expanded multiuse path and ADA accessibility; sequencing depends on work by National Grid, Verizon, Xfinity (Comcast) and Unitil, which the mayor said must move lines or install gas lines before final paving.
The mayor said the sidewalk-and-pole project came in significantly under budget, and the remaining funds will be used to install an ADA-accessible ramp at Mackie Park. The mayor described the Park Street work as installing new utility poles to move wires off sidewalks so the city can finish a continuous concrete multiuse path. After utilities relocate and Verizon removes old telephone poles, the city will remove asphalt patches and pour final concrete slabs.
On Crystal Lake Drive, the mayor said paving funded by a MAST Trails grant will begin June 9 and likely take about two weeks; the work will connect an existing bike-path extension around Greenwood Pool and complete the route down to the Watkins family plot at the cemetery. Unitil’s gas-line work on the upper section means the city will start paving at Abbott Street and return later to pave the portion above Abbott when Unitil finishes its gas-line installation.
The mayor also noted the city’s dependence on Chapter 90 state funding for broader paving plans and said the city typically receives about $600,000 per year from the Commonwealth; he said it costs about $1.5 million to pave a mile, and the city supplements state funds with certified free cash contributions for roads.
