January 19 - January 25, 2020

The Weston Department of Public Works continued to fulfill its mission to construct and maintain the physical infrastructure that provides for the public's health and safety, to protect the environment, and to enhance the quality of life and ensure that Weston continues to be a desirable place in which to live and conduct business. The following is the weekly report, by division:

2020 Roadway Reconstruction Program - In Development

The Public Works team is developing its FY21 budget, which includes planning the next construction season activities and engineering design and permitting work.

There is a great deal of planning and coordination that goes into the overall roadway schedule and the annual roadway construction activities that also involve associated drainage, culvert, water, sidewalk, and utilities (National Grid) work. Depending on how well the coordination progresses, DPW will begin the roadway reconstruction work and utility work sometime in April 2020. Residents can expect another aggressive construction season, which will be managed and balanced with the Town Center Project, as that work moves above-ground, and the start of the Josiah Smith Tavern rehabilitation (overseen by the Facilities Dept.).

Roadways currently under review for the 2020 construction season are the following (some are dependent upon the completion of water, drainage, and gas work):

Bogle Street (round 2 of the Rubber Chip Seal program);
Conant Road (round 2 of the Rubber Chip Seal program) – Colchester to Brook Road;
Ash Street (mill and overlay);
Church Street (mill and overlay) – Conant Road to railroad;
Kings Grant Road - Spruce Hill Road to cul de sac;
Spruce Hill Road - Kings Grant Road to cul de sac;
Bay State Road - Spruce Hill Road to end;
Indian Hill Road - Kings Grant Road to end;
Webster Road - Church Street to Church Street;
Buckskin Road - Route 20 to town line;
Warren Avenue - Boston Post Road to Gun Club Lane;
Arrowhead Road - Bakers Hill Road to Bakers Hill Road;
Merriam Street* - Silver Hill Road to Sunset Road;
Newton Street - #150 to South Avenue;
October Lane - Bakers Hill Road to Conant Road;
Spring Lane - Conant Road to end of roadway

*(Remaining) 2019 Roadway Reconstruction Program
Merriam Street (Sunset Road to Silver Hill Road) – a lot of moving parts remain and need to be completed prior to the roadway reconstruction taking place. These include
completing the roadway drainage work between Westland Road and house no. 189 +/-, Westland Road and house no. 217, and house no. 245 +/- to Hallet Hill Road;
Merriam Street Culvert Replacement over Cherry Brook; water gate replacements on Merriam Street at Cherry Brook Road (utility pole holding is required by Eversource); and the sidewalk installation (southerly section between Westland Road and Sunset Road require easements)

2019 Paving Season Totals

28,636 linear feet - about 5.42 miles of roadway, including 6,216 linear feet of chip sealing on Brown Street and Cliff Road (first year program)
26,844 linear feet of crack sealing (second year program)
about 3,775 linear feet (appx .7 miles) of sidewalks and curbing were rehabilitated
two new parking areas at Concord Road and Church Street were installed for the Mass Central Rail Trail
and 100 linear feet of new sidewalk was installed at the Church Street spur for the rail trail

Town Center Improvement Project

Find construction updates - sign up for "Town Center Construction Project" email/text notifications Weston.org/StayInformed or visit project web page at Weston.org/TownCenter for three-week look ahead.

Businesses are open and parking is available - traffic Management Plans are modified daily to maximize available parking for the businesses;
Manhole and conduit work and structure service work installation ongoing
Drainage work in the Town Green underway
Prepping for surface work to start up in March/April

Additional Road Work Not Affiliated with the Town's Roadway Program

See updates in "State/Utility Project Work" for projects impacting roadways:
- National Grid gas main work
- Coordinated gas main replacement through DPW
See updates in "Ongoing DPW Projects" for water/drainage, etc. work at:
- Newton Street
- Legacy Trail
See updates in "Consultant Work" for larger projects at:
- Rt. 20 and Rt. 30 TIP projects
- Ash Street sidewalk

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State/Utility Project Work

Continuing to coordinate with Eversource on a number of outstanding issues in Town including double poles, poles guyed into trees, leaning poles and pole guyed with rope (Merriam Street), Hazard trees at/near power lines, etc.;
National Grid has submitted several permits for repairing long-standing gas leak locations;

National Grid Gas Relay Projects

Remaining work from the 2019 Construction Season:

Church Street (at/about Pigeon Hill Road) - work completed with the exception of crossing over the MBTA/rail trail;
Arrowhead Road - anticipated completion date of Jan. 27

Proposed work for the 2020 Construction Season:

Sherburn Circle;
Concord Road (1-81) are also gas main replacement projects;
Tyler Road;
292-352 Winter Street;
74-147 Orchard Avenue;
4-54 Orchard Avenue;
Bay State Road;
Indian Hill Road;
Webster Road

2019 Coordinated Work Totals

Gas main replacement totals by National Grid as it relates to coordination by DPW and future roadway reconstruction

17,918 linear feet (~3.93 miles) of old gas main replaced
109 services upgraded
1,360 linear feet redundancy gas main installed

DPW employees installing a drainage pipe

Ongoing DPW Projects

Wireless Meter Reading - All contracts are in place (3), permits for collectors in progress, and installation of meters and radios to occur over the next several months, and then activation of the system. Coordination with town accounting hardware is also ongoing (MUNIS). Notices for meter work and scheduling will be going out soon. See Weston.org/WaterMeters for more information;
Newton Street Drainage (by church and Doublet Hill Area) - Town Engineer is working with several properties owners and others to secure easement rights for Phase II and Phase III drainage work;
Merriam Street Drainage work (at/about Westland Road: between Westland and Silver Hill Road) – Still drainage work needed on the Hallet Hill Road portion of Merriam Street. Town Engineering working with Town counsel;
Legacy Trail Project - anticipate work resuming in the spring

Consultant Work Managed by DPW

Overseeing consultant work on Proposed Route 30 Roadway Reconstruction TIP Project - roadway, sidewalk, drainage improvements, intersection improvements, etc. A brief summary of the progress to date was provided to the Select Board on July 30. Anticipate being before the Board again in February to solicit comments prior to the formal 25% Submission to MassDOT. Project info at weston.org;
Overseeing consultant work on Proposed Route 20 Intersection Improvement TIP Project - (signal at Boston Post Road/Wellesley Street/Boston Post Road By-Pass) - a summary of the progress was provided to the Select Board on July 30 and Sept. 10 to solicit comments. Town Engineer and consultant worked with neighbors of Winsor Way to further develop the design. Received approval from Select Board on Jan. 21 to submit 25% design to MassDOT. Project info at weston.org;
Overseeing several sidewalk design projects - (Merriam Street and Warren Avenue) – Funding secured for the work; culvert replacement and drainage work on Merriam needs to take place; sidewalk project needs to be coordinated with roadway work. Warren Ave on hold;
Overseeing consultant design and permitting for Concord Road Culvert replacement which has impacts on the Warren Avenue and Merriam Street culverts - decision matrix tabling being evaluated. Engineering presented findings to Board of Selectmen and the Conservation Commission;
Overseeing consultant design and permitting for Ash Street Sidewalk Project - Design ongoing. Consultant to presented progress prints to Traffic and Sidewalk Committee, but drainage, length of crosswalk and curbing issues/comments from DPW Director need to be resolved. Town Engineer has outreached to MWRA about secure rights / easements to address previously mentioned concerns;
Overseeing consultant design and preparation of specification for Cemetery Tomb Restoration. Draft plans provided and comments provided back to consultant

Engineering

Currently reviewing 6 Stormwater Permits;
Currently issued 58 Stormwater permits which also requires construction inspection;
MS4 Stormwater Permit Annual Report – working on Year 2 requirements (ongoing), Met with consultant on 1/17/20 regarding current status of Town’s responsibilities and the MS4 2-Year 6 requirements; the SWPPP and LTPPP for DPW and Transfer Station;
Catch Basin Cleaning – cleaning to start April 2020;
Working with the Town’s Traffic and Sidewalk Committee on several items: Love Lane, Chestnut Street, Sunset Road, Wellesley Street at Route 30 signal, mirrors, stop sign requests, sidewalk requests, crosswalk requests, etc.;
Ongoing Engineering Drainage Designs:
- Hallet Hill at Merriam Street – design 70% completed 2020 construction;
- Pinecroft at Conant Road – plan preparation 75% completed with pipe sizes and elevations being adjusted;
- Newton Street – Additional survey is schedule for Jan. 20
- Kings Grant Road - Preliminary drainage design and system sizing started

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underground installation of a water main

Water Division

Completed approximately 38 DigSafes;
Performed weekly samples (3), monthly water samples at tanks, and station/tank inspections;
Continued working on meter billing;
Repaired 1 fire hydrant;
Replaced 1 broken meter;
Responded to 1 leaking water service turned off at the main;
Assisted Highway Division with plowing

Park and Cemetery Division

Leaf pickup and brush pickup at Linwood Cemetery and other park and cemetery locations;
Cleaned and serviced equipment;
Assist Highway Division with plowing/scraping

Solid Waste and Recycling Division

Processed 1, 100-yard solid waste dumpster totaling 18.94 tons;
Picked up municipal office recycling –2,980 lbs;
Picked up Town office and select Town park solid waste – 1,100 lbs.;
Processed 1 cardboard container,s – 7.61 tons;
Processed 1 glass container – 1.60 tons;
Processed 1 metal container – 3.03 tons;
Process 1 container of scrap wood – 4.76 tons;
Assisted with the pickup of various donations including clothing, electronics, books and bikes – 2,360 lbs;
Assisted with pickup of Weston textiles – 1,860 lbs;
Processed 5 cent deposit bottles and cans – 560 lbs;
Organized and maintained order in swap shed;
Cleaned the trailer pit as needed;
Pick up litter and cleaned up around the site as needed;
Packed containers as needed to maximize loads;
Assisted Highway Division with plowing/scraping

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Highway/Stormwater Divisions

Hot patching potholes: 1/21 and 1/22;
Respond to Misc. calls for service: 14;
Pickup Deer Removals: Conant Road;
Traffic signage and mailbox and maintenance repairs: Fields Pond, Lexington, Legion, Westerly, Ellis, and Page;
Inspect miscellaneous tree locations for possible action: West Cliff;
Tree Canopy Raising and Trimming: Kings Grant Area;
Clean and service equipment: 1/23 and 1/24;
Cooks Pond Pump Station: Operating normally. alarm system install ongoing;
Install and prep plow equipment: 1/17/20 and remove plows on 1/21/20;
Deicing operations: 1/18/20, 1/19/20, and 1/21/20;
General Plowing and Sidewalk Plowing: 1/18/20 and 1/19/20;
Create Inlet and Outfall List for Division and for MS4 Permit and GIS database: Continue Middle and South Sections;
Clean Stump Grindings, Backfill with Loam to Grade: 1/22/20 Division Listing;
Yard Maintenance: 1/21 and 22;
Division Training with Fleet Maintenance: 1/24/19 Spill Cleanup & Control

Vehicle Maintenance Division

Performed routine maintenance (fluid services, tires and brakes, exhaust, steering and suspension, exterior trim work and electrical repairs) on 15 school buses, 1 police vehicle, and 11 DPW trucks and other equipment, noting that the DPW Vehicle Maintenance Division is responsible for over 127 pieces of rolling stock for the Town;
Performed 2 major repairs on vehicles with Major/Significant maintenance activity: Buses 22 engine light and H20 fuel sender;
Assisted the Highway Division with Sanding and Plowing operations

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