Westfield, MA has been suffering serious crosstown congestion for years, but hopefully tomorrow it will be improved. As of tomorrow, December 1, the original Great River Bridge in Westfield, MA will be re-opening!
I visited the bridge today:
The City of Westfield has been undergoing a massive amount of park and road improvements that have created some challenges for residents as we encounter traffic delays in seemingly every part of town.
There is much progress being made, however, and some very good news on the near horizon.
Firstly, the paving of Main Street is moving right along and will soon be complete. But here is the big news that I found most exciting:
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Great River Bridge Project:
The contractor laying pavement on the bridge deck. They are continuing on a plan to begin traffic flow going southbound on the renovated bridge during Thanksgiving week – weather permitting.
As a reminder this is a State funded/State controlled project and we are gathering information and moving it out to you as it becomes available.”
Can you believe it folks? We will soon be able to use both bridges…yippee!
The City of Westfield has a wonderful page that provides weekly construction and traffic updates.
So residents of Westfield, what do you think of the new clock tower?
While I like it, I have heard a lot of varied response to it. I feel that once the rest of the projects are done and there are plantings nearby, it will look even better. Many others, however, really dislike the tower.
In other news, constructions is going hot and heavy again downtown. Outside the Park Square Realty office at 44 Elm Street, Westfield, MA the crews were hard at work this week ripping up sidewalks and curbing.
As I journeyed down Main Street towards East Main today, I was met with significant delays due to traffic funneling down to one lane for continuing road improvements. This construction is making it difficult to schedule home showings for my home buyers in Westfield, as you never know how long it will take to get past the various construction sites.
On Court Street a more attractive job was being done as trees were added to the belt running down the middle of the road.
Some day, when these jobs are done and Westfield is a beautiful place, we will be glad for these disruptions, but for now, they are a major pain in the bum! It is encouraging to be seeing progress, even though it slows the cross town commute.
Westfield is at it again! Old man winter has made the pothole situation a nightmare once again AND to top off the bumping and shaking, the construction crews are back at it again.
Be careful out there! Here is a report from the road:
As a resident and real estate agent in Westfield, MA I can tell you first hand what a pain in the bum this year’s construction has been.
Not only is it making for even more traffic going North and South in Westfield, but downtown the Town Green, Elm Street, Broad Street and Main Street have all been under major construction, too.
This spring I had to buy a new set of tires because I hit a hole in the road under construction on Main Street and I resorted to working from home most of the summer and fall as Park Square Realty is located on Elm Street, Westfield where there was massive roadwork. My nine year old wants to create a petition that prevents there from being more than two road projects at a time…I guess she is tired of sitting in the traffic, too!
A major sadness throughout this process has been the demolition of our town green. The large trees and fountain were removed, the entire area bulldozed and it has become a construction center with piles of rocks and dirt and machines on it.
Tonight the Westfield City Council approved the 1.9 million dollar Town Green project, including a much contested $350,000 gazebo. The full story from Masslive.com can be seen here.
Now I am really not sure how big a gazebo has to be to cost $350,000. I have sold some really nice homes in that price point. I wonder if the gazebo is going to have granite counter tops and a jacuzzi tub?
I am, like most Westfield, MA residents, really looking forward to the day that they complete these projects and get our Town Green returned to us. Here is a cool 3D flyby virtual video of the completed project to tide you over while we endure more construction:
