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01/08/2020 07:45 AMA continuous series of bad weather incidents has pushed back the completion of the Tuxis Pond Walkway project for at least another month, according to Assistant Town Engineer Rob Russo.
The walkway is a boardwalk-style pedestrian pathway that stretches between Bradley Road adjacent to the Webster Bank lot at the north and the Boston Post Road between the firehouse and Cumberland Farms on the south, wrapping around the western edge of Tuxis Pond. It is the primary pedestrian link between the train station and Madison’s center.
Russo told The Source that contractors have lost at least 10 days of work over the last couple months as rain, ice, and snow prevented construction. Though he said the project is very near completion, he estimated that even with good luck as far as weather events, the walkway will likely not open until the beginning of February.
In 2016, the town was awarded a grant of $400,000 from the state Transit-Oriented Development program to rehabilitate some of the walkway’s aging or damaged infrastructure, including railings, decking, and defunct or vandalized lighting.
That money ended up failing to cover the full cost, and the Board of Finance approved a special appropriation of $147,000 to make up the difference in September.
Russo originally estimated that the walkway would be operational and open to the public before the holidays.
“Between the end of November and into December with numerous rain and ice storms we had...we’re getting a lot of rain-outs,” Russo said. “There’s nothing [wrong] with the project itself...it’s just the weather is not cooperating.”
Raw materials and parts needed for construction also contributed to pushing the project back, Russo said, with delayed shipping around the holidays leaving workers without some needed components of the work, specifically as far as new lighting.
Currently, workers are putting together wire railings, which Russo previously told The Source would contribute to the walkway offering more expansive views of the pond, with work starting on new, safer, and more modern light fixtures hopefully next week, he said.
Work on the lighting should be able to continue regardless of weather, Russo said.
Russo also referred to some previously detailed improvements to Bradley Road pedestrian access areas, stretching from the north end of the Tuxis Walkway all the way to Wall Street as the “second phase” of the project. He said that while that design, also funded by another grant from the same state Transit-Oriented Development program, is still in a preliminary stage, he envisioned the two projects joining together cohesively.
The north end of the Tuxis Walkway will eventually have a “little plaza,” Russo said, according to current plans, with benches and ornamental trees spaced out on an open, paved area, along with signage to indicate the direction of downtown or other landmarks. This area will serve as a connecting point between the train station, downtown, and other areas along Bradley Road and Wall Street connected for pedestrian access.
“That would be the ultimate opportunity, because you’ll have both of these phases of the project sort of coming together,” Russo said.
Some of these elements are still dependent on funding and the bids the town receives, Russo said.
Though the Bradley Road phase of the project is going smoothly, Russo said, those improvements, which include expanded sidewalks and ADA accessible crosswalks, still need to enter a final design phase and be submitted for approval to the state Department of Transportation.
That makes the timeline for that phase uncertain, Russo said. He said he expected to have bids for that project sometime this spring.
When both the Tuxis Walkway and Bradley Road improvements are finished, Russo said he hoped the town might have some sort of celebration or grand opening to let residents know about the improvements.