Public Works

Highway & Grounds Division

Dickinson Fowler,
Highway & Grounds Superintendent

The Highway and Grounds Division maintains approximately 107 miles of public streets with the associated drainage systems consisting of almost 50 miles of drain lines, 2,552 catch basins, 124 culverts and 751 drainage manholes. In addition, the Division maintains 55 miles of sidewalks, 2,793 signs, over 90 pieces of cpw vehicles and equipment, and manages the compost facility. The Division is responsible for 82 acres of public parks and grounds including 39 acres of active recreation areas (10 athletic fields). The Division maintains all public shade and park trees, under the direction of the Park and Tree Supervisor who is also the Town's Tree Warden.

Snow Removal Program

The 2006 season saw significant activity for the Department's winter maintenance personnel. Although winter snow levels were not high, with only five storm events requiring full mobilization of forces, sanding and salting operations were extensive throughout the season. This was due to a persistent cycle of freezing and thawing throughout the winter. One snow removal operation was held following the State-wide blizzard on December 17, 2005. A mailing was sent to all residents informing them of the Town policy concerning snow removal from driveways into the public way, along with Concord's storm strategy, focusing on a restricted salt use policy. The mailing informed residents of potential winter parking bans and winter sand availability for Concord residents.

Roads and Sidewalk Maintenance

The Highway Division manages the contracts for several major maintenance programs including pavement preservation strategies such as crack sealing and infra-red patching. These programs were initially delayed pending budget approval; however, programs were completed in the fall. Highway crews reclaimed several sections of roadway with full-depth patches in preparation of certain road projects that included Virginia Road, Dalton Road, Heath's Bridge Road, and Keyes Road. Other areas that were worked on include the Ridge area, Main Street, Old Stow Road, Conant Street, and roads located within the cemeteries. Route 62 in West Concord received limited road improvement measures while waiting for the "Foot print " State-funded rebuilding project to commence.

cpw Highway Division personnel repairing the basin at the Town Forest, a cooperative effort with the Natural Resources Division.

In addition to road repair and regular road maintenance, brush cutting and sweeping, the Division performed major sidewalk work which included overlaying and reconstruction of the following: Baker Avenue and Belknap Street in cooperation with the train horn silencing project, Main Street in front of the South Burying Ground, Laws Brook Road, Pine Street and numerous other smaller repairs in cooperation with cmlp.

Drainage

In support, and in advance of the roads program the Division completed major drainage work in the Main Street, Cambridge Turnpike, Martin Road and Kinney Lane neighborhoods and follow up work in Conantum. In addition, several sunken/collapsed catch basins were repaired at various locations. Oversight continues on Cambridge Turnpike concerning two culverts that repeatedly plugged causing flooding in this area. New basins were installed on Highland Street, Harrington Avenue, Barretts Mill Road, Oak Hill Circle, Phillip Farm Road, Garland Road, Crescent Street, Shagbark Road, and Walden Street. Highway Division crews frequently monitored beaver/flooding areas of concern at Mill Brook, Spencer Brook, Williams Road, and Cambridge Turnpike that reached levels of concern during Concord's many rain events. The White Pond boat launch infiltrator was also cleaned and jetted.

Parks and Playgrounds

The Parks & Tree crews maintain over 39 acres of athletic fields for use by the baseball, softball, soccer, and lacrosse programs, and others. Emerson, Rideout, and Sanborn playgrounds are heavily used from spring through the fall and receive the most attention with regards to mowing, raking, line painting, etc. Sprinkler systems are continually maintained with two new locations added to cpw inventory in 2006. Ripley field irrigation was completed and energized, and upper Sanborn was installed by Town crews with plans for operational activity in the summer of 2007. The crews also supported maintenance in various conservation areas including the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, as well as the community gardens, the Visitor's Center, all Town properties and numerous gateway traffic islands and areas of public access in the business districts.

Trees

Concord Public Works planted a total of 81 public shade and park trees with an additional 26 planted in Town cemeteries. All shade trees were planted in accordance with the Division policy of "the right tree in the right place", and included many trees planted on private property as public shade trees, in accordance with the shade tree planting policy. Along with the new plantings, the Parks & Trees crews pruned 10+ trees and took down another 90+ trees that had been damaged or were in hazardous condition. Numerous trees were removed in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery by Concord Tree crews in accordance with the adopted hazardous tree study, commissioned by the Concord Cemetery Committee.

2006 saw the continued integration of Tree Warden activities within the Park and Tree Division. The move of the Tree Warden from the Planning Department to the Park and Tree Division, with the Supervisor being formally appointed as Tree Warden occurred in 2005 and brings the administrative function as well as the operational function under one umbrella with Highway and Grounds. The "public shade tree protection policy," adopted in 2005, continues to be shared with the public, contractors and Town departments. The Division's goal remains to replace at least one public shade tree for every public shade tree that is removed or dies.

Cemetery

In addition to routine maintenance and burial activities, the Cemetery staff worked on numerous projects and provided contractor oversight. This included, extending screening trees at the Knoll, anchor tree planting at the Knoll, completion of granite street markers, installing designation signs on gate columns, tree removal oversight at Old Hill and Sleepy Hollow following the adopted hazardous tree plan, partial completion of Knoll Garage, flag pole lighting at the Knoll, repaving of roads and sidewalks, and continuing erosion control activities. A structural analysis was performed on the Administration Building with funding arranged to have work done in 2008 as part of an overall building rehabilitation project. The Melvin Memorial maintenance program continued to be reviewed under the direction of the Cemetery Committee.

The nationally recognized re-interment of Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife and daughter, Sophia and Una, took place at the Hawthorne lot at Sleepy Hollow on June 26, 2006.

In the fifth year of a multi-phase monument restoration program in the older cemeteries, the Concord firm of Fannin Lehner Preservation Consultants continued their assessment at "Old Hill", so this restoration project can continue. The completion of the South Burying ground restoration phase was celebrated on May 7, 2006.