Mayor Christopher Johnson
Reminder Publishing file photo
AGAWAM — At the City Council meeting on Nov. 17, Mayor Christopher Johnson detailed a number of updates on construction projects across Agawam, including completed projects and hopeful completion dates.
Construction at the new Agawam High School is “well underway,” according to Johnson.
Johnson says drilling for the geothermal well is complete and piping into the building will soon begin. The community wing’s foundation is also nearly complete and the erection of the steel structure is in progress. Johnson expects those to be completed by December or January. The town has a community meeting for design updates happening around then, as well.
“The community wing is obviously the first portion that is being constructed, with an anticipated completion date of December of next year or January 2027,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said that construction at the new Agawam Police Headquarters is complete and dispatch operations are occurring at the station. They are currently in the processing of moving records over, and the move of evidence should begin shortly, according to Johnson.
Agawam will be having a ribbon cutting ceremony and community open house at the new police station on Dec. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Johnson expects the ribbon cutting to happen around noon before the community is allowed in for tours.
Johnson announced new amenities have been completed at Still Brook Park. A new playscape with swings and exercise stations, along with a new pond management system with fountains, have been installed. They are still currently working on state approval for a bathroom building.
At School Street Park, construction of the new veterans memorial is complete. The town is currently waiting on the delivery of a taller flag pole for the middle and six flag poles to represent each branch of the military on the surrounding area. Johnson said a local architect has also been hired to construct a new bell tower.
The Veterans Council will also be selling memorial pavers around the site to honor veterans. People will be able to sponsor a paver, which will then be removed for engraving and placed back into the memorial.
“There are a little under 2,000 pavers,” Johnson said. “The most often answered question is ‘do they have to be a veteran from Agawam?’ The answer is no, they can be a veteran from anywhere. Anyone can be honored by somebody purchasing a memorial paver in their honor.”
The roofs at all four elementary schools have been invited into the Massachusetts School Building Authority accelerated repair program, as well.
This program “focuses on the preservation of existing assets by performing energy-efficient and cost-saving upgrades, which will result in direct operational savings for school districts,” according to the MSBA.
Johnson expects design to begin in July 2026, with construction anticipated in 2027. MSBA provides reimbursement if the roofs are constructed “solar-ready,” which Johnson says they are taking advantage of.
Construction on the Westfield River Sewer Interceptor relocation project is nearly complete after a few weeks of work. The main goal of this project was to move the main sewer interceptor line off the Westfield River bank because of the bank’s destabilization over the last several decades.
“The goal was to try to get it done after The Big E and before the height of the Christmas shopping season,” Johnson said. “They did a great job on getting in on that short timeline and not having to deal with The Big E traffic and not having to hurt the businesses in there by impacting their holiday shopping period.”
Johnson discussed the Maple Street Safe Routes to School Project, a state project expected to be completed in 2026. This project focuses on “improving safety for students and residents who walk and bike in the Maple Street corridor from O’Brien’s corner intersector to Walnut Street,” according to MassDOT.
MassDOT plans on constructing a shared use path along the north side of Maple Street and three rapid flash beacon crossings along the corridor. ADA compliant curb cuts will be “constructed as needed,” and a raised intersection with a three way stop control has been proposed at the intersection of Bridge and Maple streets.
The project is currently in preliminary work for pole relocation and the installation of new curbing. Johnson expects work to break for winter and return in the spring. The project will cost a total of around $3.5 million, with the state covering around $3 million.
