Select Board approves order of taking for Route 79; project to move toward construction in 2026

The Town of Lakeville Select Board voted Dec. 2 to adopt an order of taking for temporary and permanent easements tied to the Route 79 roadway improvement project and to award damages to affected property owners as listed in the project documents on file with the town.

Town Administrator Andrew told the board this is "the last takings associated with this project" and "the biggest one," and that if the order is approved he must record plans at the registry — a step he described as "the final step before construction is kinda, like, okay to go proceed." Project representative Matt Schuch said, "There should be a pre-construction meeting that will happen in the next month or so, but there won't be much activity out there at all until the spring," and confirmed major work is expected to start in 2026.

The motion to adopt the order of taking and to award damages was moved, seconded and approved by roll call. Board members noted the item concludes a long-running project; one member traced public discussion of the highway project back several years and said the town expects a formal ribbon-cutting once work is completed.

What happens next: staff will record the recorded plans and proceed with pre-construction coordination; the board did not take any additional funding votes during the meeting.