Project to cause temporary disruptions as main replacement project moves through downtown

– by Andrew Doerfler, originally posted on July 6, 2016

NORTH ATTLEBORO — Residents and businesses on the side streets off North Washington Street should brace for interruptions to water service as the downtown water main replacement project continues.

Revoli Construction, the contractor for the project, has finished pressure-testing and chlorinating the new water main between Elm and Fisher streets, and will now move to connecting the side streets.

To do that, workers will have to shut off water in certain spots for a few hours at a time. The department of public works will be using the Connect CTY notification system to alert residents before water is shut off.

The interruptions should occur overnight into the early-morning hours from now until early next week. Work is being done between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., though on two occasions issues have caused it to extend later into the morning.

A tie-in on Church Street went until 8 a.m., leaving some without water in the morning.

Regardless, Public Works Director Mark Hollowell said the work is on schedule and going as smoothly as possible for an inevitably disruptive project.

The work drew some flak from selectmen after it stalled for multiple nights at an intersection in front of Pace Plaza, keeping residents awake. About two-dozen residents filed a petition for selectmen to intervene, and board members responded by saying construction shouldn’t be done in one spot two nights in a row.

But Hollowell said because of the linear nature of the water main project, workers can’t hop to other spots.

“It really is unavoidable,” Hollowell said. “The project is not like planting a garden.”

The department of public works has boxes of earplugs available to residents, though none have been taken.

The department is hoping the night work on the stretch between Elm and Fisher streets will be done by the end of next week. Revoli Construction will then start daytime work on the more residential stretch between Fisher and Park streets.

To report any problems, residents can call 508-643-6636 or fill out a form on the town’s website, nattleboro.com.