WILLIAMSBURG — A Monday Select Board meeting will tackle the proposed reconstruction of Mountain Street, which has drawn significant objections from local residents.
The meeting, which will begins at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at 141 Main St., will be a public forum for people to comment on the 25% design of Mountain Street.
Select Board Member William Sayre said that the purpose of the forum is to gather public input from the community and residents of the Mountain Street area in order for the board to write a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on the initial design presentation by the engineering firm Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc, which took place at a MassDOT meeting on June 16.
The public input period on the current stage of the project will last through July 16.
The June 16 MassDOT meeting drew significant public input. Five options for the reconstruction of the 2.8-mile stretch of road were laid out, with the preferred option being Alternative 5, which would reconstruct the road with a 28-foot paved section with 10-foot travel lanes and 4-foot paved shoulders.
This design would require the expansion of the road and the placement of easements on either side of it. However, it has drawn objections from some residents.
Julia Peters, who lives on Mountain Street, said that a petition opposing the plan has received approximately 100 signatures.
Peters said that one-size fits all plans “don’t always work for the smaller rural communities.”
And she said an opportunity is being missed to look at what the people on the street actually want.
“We’re looking at another alternative that DOT overlooked,” Peters said.
That design, Alternative 4, would do the reconstruction in roughly the current pavement section. Additionally, she said that widening and straightening the road would make speed issues on the road, worse, cementing the stretch as an artery, and increase the cost.
Peters also said that the group is requesting that residents be actively involved in the process going forward.
Sayre said there are different points of view in the community about the design elements put forward at the hearing. And he also said that the town cannot do the reconstruction of Mountain Street on its own.
“It’s critical that the town work with MassDOT in order to get Mountain Street reconstructed,” Sayre said.
The estimated price tag for the reconstruction is $13 million.
Sayre expressed a hope that the town could come together in support of one design, if possible. He also said that state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, is aware of the concerns of residents, and has assured the town that she will involve herself as needed.
Sayre also said that MassDOT has agreed to host a public information session in town on the reconstruction in mid- to-late August where submitted comments can be addressed in detail.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.