By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) Wisdom Way in Greenfield will be reopening in the afternoon of Friday, December 9th. It has been closed for a reconstruction project since May and will be reopening to traffic for the winter until crews can resume work in the spring of 2023.
According to a statement from the City of Greenfield, “The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and C&A Construction Company of Chicopee have been reconstructing the road including new gas, sewer, water and drainage lines, replacement of a retaining wall and construction of a bicycle/walking path between River and Mill streets and the Franklin County Fairgrounds.”
“We are pleased to have reached this milestone in this much-needed reconstruction that’s going to produce a safer Wisdom Way engineered to modern standards,” said Greenfield Public Works Director Marlo Warner. “I know it’s been an inconvenience for people who live in the area and for anyone trying to access the fairgrounds, the transfer station, Green River Cemetery and the Children’s Advocacy Center, but I am confident the final product will be worth it.”
Construction will begin again in late March of next year, but the road will not be closed full time. Instead there will be “intermittent closures and one-lane traffic patterns between #56 Wisdom Way and River and Mill streets to complete the remaining work. This includes construction of the bicycle/walking path, road paving, landscaping and installation of bike racks and benches.”
So far the reconstruction project budget is $3.3 million, including $338,000 for the design and engineering components. The remainder of the cost will be funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the federal government. The project is scheduled to be completed by May 2023.