DPW Superintendent Elizabette Batista discussed a $1.2 million bond authorization to the City Council during its Aug. 4 meeting.
Photo credit: ChicopeeTV
CHICOPEE — The roundabout project at the intersection of Montgomery Street, Granby Road and McKinstry Avenue will include another facet after the City Council approved the authorization of a $1.2 million bond to replace water utility infrastructure at the project’s site.
Mayor John Vieau discussed the plans during the Aug. 4 meeting, which include a water main replacement on the three streets, along with the addition of three roundabouts, pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, handicap-accessible sidewalks, curb ramps and general roadway and safety improvements.
He said the potable water and the waterlines are not covered in the project, which is where the $1.2 million authorization comes into play.
DPW Superintendent Elizabette Batista explained, “When you have a significant disturbance within the right of way, aging infrastructure tends not to be able to sustain the impact, and so we’re taking the opportunity to replace all the water mains and valves and all that stuff within that area.”
The water main and valve replacement project is estimated to be $2.1 million. Batista said some of the funding will come from DPW’s account, but the project also needs to be supplemented with a bond authorization.
Batista said the water line replacement portion of the project will be included within the overall roundabout project, but the water project is a non-participating fee.
“It’s the same contractor. It’s going to be phased within that project,” she stated. “We just have to pay for it separately.” The project is estimated to take a few years, according to Batista. “Once the project is awarded to the contractor, we’ll receive a schedule,” she said.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division will manage the intersection improvements at the three sites.
Design plans are found at chicopeema.gov.
The purpose of the project is to improve safety, traffic operations and accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists. The project was first initiated in 2017 through a feasibility study of the area and was approved for federal and state funding in 2018.
In May 2024, Chicopee and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation hosted a public information session to show their proposed design improvements at the site.
A 2019 Road Safety Audit highlighted three crash sites within the area.
The high crash locations ranked number five in the top 100 locations in the Pioneer Valley, and 174 crashes were reported in those three areas from 2014-2016.
The existing intersections experienced a high number of angle, rear-end and sideswipe crashes due to confusing geometry, skewed angles and pavement markings. There is also a lack of sidewalk, missing or non-compliant wheelchair ramps and no bicycle accommodations, according to project managers.
The roundabouts will be located at Granby Road at McKinstry Avenue; Granby Road at Montgomery Street and Montgomery Street at Interstate 90.
The existing traffic signal will be replaced with a peanut-shaped roundabout; a second roundabout will be constructed for access to McKinstry Avenue, and a third roundabout will be added at the intersection of Montgomery Street with the I-90 ramps.
The proposal also illustrates a raised median down the center of Montgomery Street between the proposed roundabouts to eliminate the existing hazardous left turns into and out of the shopping center plaza.
The City Council unanimously approved the bond authorization and stated that they will be informed once the project begins.
