South Main St. will finally see action
Published on August 26th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - Some relief is finally within sight for the tired tires and sore shocks which have been ravaged by the ever-growing amount of pot holes on south Main Street.
According to State Senator Richard Tisei, Stoneham can look forward to a smoother ride due to Mass Highway's agreement to move forward on the reconstruction of the roadway, at which time the town will assume responsibility for it.
Tisei told the Independent that, in 1992, the Transportation Bond Bill was approved by the state and funds totaling about $1 billion were allocated for projects like south Main Street. Since that time, however, there has been no movement by the state to complete the project.
Mass Highway Commissioner Kevin Sullivan has made a commitment to put the project out to bid on October 1.
"Part of the problem was getting the project on the priority list," explained Tisei. "I know that the selectmen have made the south Main Street reconstruction a priority and that's one of the reasons we (local legislators) went in and really tried to get it going."
With the latest word from Mass Highway, he said, the town can expect designs to be completed in the fall and construction may begin as early as the spring.
Robert Grover, director of the Department of Public Works, explained that the town was approached by the state back in 1992 and was asked if it would take responsibility for Main Street, also known as state-owned Route 28. Grover said that the town agreed to take on the roadway only if conditions on the nearly mile-long stretch that is south Main Street were upgraded.
"Through various reasons and delays by the state, it hasn't been done," Grover said, citing the Big Dig as the largest factor. "This is not unique to Stoneham. I don't think that the state will say that the Big Dig held up any of these projects, but, for some time now, that was the only project that always seemed to get funded."
Both Grover and Tisei agreed that the town's ownership of the roadway makes sense.
Grover explained that, once the town takes over the road, parking could be allowed on it, an allowance which is presently not granted through state highway regulations.
"It doesn't make any sense that the street should belong to the state," Tisei said. "Maybe many years ago when the road was actually used as a highway, but I'm sure the town will do a much better job of keeping it up than the state has done."
Board of Selectmen Chairman Albert Conti told the Independent that he is pleased to finally see movement in the area.
"It's a long time in coming," Conti said. "We're certainly pleased that there's finally going to be some work on that section."
He stated that the board would have to get updated about the roads latest designs by the state along with residents and businesses along the stretch.
"I want to make sure that what we're going to get there is what we'd always assumed we'd get," Conti said. "We're going to have to review all this. It's been a long time.
"We need to get everyone in there that's going to be affected by this and take a good look at the plans again."
Grover said that, while he is also glad to see Mass Highway make assurances of the pending work, he is cautiously optimistic.
"There's no guarantees with them," he said. "I think the only reason it wasn't done for so long was because the state didn't want to do it."
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