Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Not everything in historic downtown Lawrence is worth saving.
That’s why for the third consecutive year, portions of downtown Massachusetts Street are blocked off and crews are working to replace underground water lines, some of which date back to the late 1880s.
Philip Ciesielski, utilities engineer for the city of Lawrence, said the project to install new water mains on both sides of Massachusetts Street was needed to improve reliability and capacity. Nonetheless, businesses in the downtown shopping district hope the replacement project will soon end.
Jade Tittle, women’s team lead at Urban Outfitters, 1013 Massachusetts, said the project was imposing because of the awful din.
When construction shifted from the east side to the west side of the street last week and closed south-bound traffic in front of Urban Outfitters, Tittle said her businesses saw a decrease in sales.
Ciesielski said the project was originally planned to span three summers. This year’s project began April 23, and by May 19 the first phase of work from 11th Street to North Park Street was already completed. The next phase of repairs on the 900 to 1000 block of Massachusetts Street was finished May 21, putting the project 30 days ahead of schedule, Ciesielski said.
The original completion date was Sept. 7, but Ciesielski said it could be done by mid-August. He said the project was ahead of schedule because the company doing the repairs, Nowak Construction Co., Inc., has had three summers to find a learning curve for doing the most efficient job.
Greg Post, project manager for Nowak Construction, said his company’s experience has put the project ahead of schedule, but he realized most downtown businesses won’t miss him.
“We’re trying to stay out of everybody’s way, but it’s hard to do,” Post said. “Whenever you have a construction zone in front of your business it’s going to hurt your business.”
Post said in addition to installing the new lines on both sides of the street, his company has installed new water hydrants and electrical outlets in some areas as part of the project.
The cost for this summer’s work is $1.9 million and the total three-year project has cost $4.2 million, not counting design fees. The project was funded strictly through the Lawrence utility department’s water and sewer service, Ciesielski said.
Brian Baggett, manager of Supersonic Music, 1023 Massachusetts, said loyal customers who know his store are still coming in to buy the things they need, so construction in front of the store has only affected one aspect of his business.
“Window shoppers have probably declined, but they aren’t responsible for the majority of our sales anyway,” he said.
—Edited by Benjamin Smith
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