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Route 1 Project - Weekly Update (9-2-14)

Posted on: September 2, 2014 - 4:18pm

FALMOUTH ROUTE ONE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

Construction Update #19, September 2, 2014

The following information reflects what you’re likely to see on Route One in Falmouth in the upcoming seven days. Please note that this is a projection based on the best available information at the time that it was sent and is subject to change due to weather and other variables.

 

WORK HOURS:

During daylight hours, crews from Shaw Brothers Construction and Cianbro will be seen working along the east side of Route One, installing the natural gas main.

Paving operations may be expected between approximately 3:00 p.m. and midnight on Thursday and Friday of this week (see below).

For the remainder of this week (through Friday, September 5), primary construction work by Sargent Corp. and Moulison North will be conducted during overnight hours, from approximately 6:00 p.m. through approximately 6:00 a.m.

Next week, crews will resume overnight operations on the evening of Sunday, September 7. If all goes as planned, the period of September 7 through September 11 will mark the end of night work for the current construction season.

The overnight work will, at various times, require flagger-controlled one-way traffic on Route One, Bucknam Road, Depot Road and Clearwater Drive.

 

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

We hope everyone had a restful and relaxing long weekend!

Night work continues along Route One and various roadways entering Route One. A reminder as to why the night work is occurring: the Town of Falmouth mandated it in awarding contracts, in order to minimize impacts to businesses and commuter traffic.

The drainage system is now in place at both sides of Bucknam road; more backfilling and re-vegetation will begin shortly.

During the daylight hours, crews from Shaw Brothers and Cianbro are continuing the installation of the new natural gas main. The main is now installed as far south as the Levitt and Sons Deli on the east side of Route One via trenching. Tonight (Tuesday) they’ll bring the main across Route One, for eventual tie-in up Depot and Lunt Roads.

Once that crossing is complete, it’s anticipated that the primary run of the main will continue south along Route One’s east side. Here’s some good news on that: the bulk of the work remainder of the run south is expected to be managed via directional drilling, rather than trenching, which should be far less disruptive to east side businesses. The main is also continuing north, outside of the Route One Redevelopment Project work zone.

Some temporary utility poles have been put in place by Central Maine Power – among them, in the vicinity of the Key Bank/Starbucks and Norway Savings Bank/Foreside Tavern. These poles will be removed once the businesses are tied in to underground utilities.

One more important note: a 300’ section of primary sewer service force main (a force main is a large pipe carrying sewage under pressure) will be installed this week on Clearwater Drive. The area is already served by a force main, which was scheduled for replacement within the next five years. The Town is replacing this section as a part of this project, in order to reduce the likelihood of future disruption.

 

WORK CURRENTLY UNDERWAY:

As of Tuesday, August 26, work is occurring in various locations, including:

  • Installation of natural gas pipeline, from the north end of the project heading south. This work is occurring on the east side of Route One.
  • Preparation of natural gas crossing of Route One at Depot Road. The actual crossing is scheduled for this evening (Tuesday). One-way traffic will be required; flaggers will be on scene to direct traffic.

 

WORK YOU’RE LIKELY TO SEE IN THE UPCOMING SEVEN DAYS:

  • Continued installation of natural gas main (daytime). Because this will be done using directional drilling, minimal impact to traffic is anticipated.
  • Continuation of the force main installation on Clearwater drive (heading west). This will occur overnights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and will require flagger-controlled one-way traffic.
  • On Thursday and Friday, we anticipate that paving operations will resume. The primary focus will be paving of crossings of Route One and intersecting roads. Depending upon progress, some driveway entrances may also be paved. Paving is scheduled to start at approximately 3:00 p.m. both afternoons, and run until midnight. Flaggers will control traffic.
  • Continuation of drainage work; it is anticipated that drainage work at the Clearwater Road intersection will be completed Friday evening. Crews will also be adding fill to the drainage systems at the northwest corner of the Bucknam Road intersection Thursday evening.
  • Moulison North will move to Bucknam Road intersection this week, bringing the primary duct bank across the intersection. Upon completion of this tie-in, the primary duct bank will be complete. Numerous spurs up side streets and providing service to businesses await installation.
  • Early next week, you may expect to see a significant drainage run on the east side of Route One, crossing the driveways at McDonald’s, Five County Credit Union, Dunkin Donuts and Subway. This work will be done at night and may require closure of the right-hand lane.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS: Because so much of the work is happening at night, we don’t have as much to show you this week. Even so, we’ve got a couple of snaps for you.

 

In this image, taken Tuesday, we see crews from Shaw Brothers Construction and Cianbro on the eastern side of Route One at the corner of Depot Road. Note the sharp turn in the pipe; tonight, crews will take the gas main across Route One, where it will ultimately connect with Depot and Lunt Road. A smaller section of gas main will continue south on Route One, although that installation will be done by means of directional drilling, which will be less intrusive.

One of the reasons the project is going so smoothly is that senior personnel are “hands on” in the best possible way. Here, we see some field inspection. From left:  Operations Manager Colby Currier, Sargent Corporation; the Town of Falmouth’s Director of Public Works Jay Reynolds; Senior Principal Engineer Joe Lavarriere from Fay, Spofford and Thorndike; and Project Manager Ian McCarthy from Sargent Corporation.