Concord, MA - Concord Public Works

The Concord Public Works Engineering Division is responsible for the planning, design, engineering and construction of Town roads, sidewalks, drainage, bridges and stormwater infrastructure assets. The division provides a wide range of professional engineering and construction management services for Concord Public Works and other Town departments and boards.

The division provides Geographic Information System services and maintains Town-wide inventories, database, mapping and document control of Concord’s public right-of-ways, easements, infrastructure assets and natural resources.

There are approximately one hundred and seven miles of public roads, classified as arterial roads, collector roads and local streets in Concord. Arterial roads provide movement between collector roads, other arterial roads and major highways and make-up approximately 34% of Concord’s public roads. Collector roads, used primarily to connect local streets to other collector and arterial roads, make-up approximately 7% of Concord’s public roads, and the remaining 59% of public roads consist of local streets. In addition, Concord has 55 miles of public sidewalks.

Concord’s pavement management strategy and 20-year Roads and Sidewalks Program Plan emphasizes adequate investment in road and sidewalk/handicap ramp rehabilitation combined with preventive and routine maintenance. This program is based on an annual condition survey of 25% of roads and the evaluation of contiguous sidewalks. The program utilizes pavement management software, in-house engineering/operations knowledge and Town-wide utility planning.

A key element used to enhance road pavement maintenance is the extensive use of crack sealing. The use of this material enables CPW to maintain the integrity of existing road structures while improving selected roads by means of reconstruction, cold plane/overlay, and chip sealing.

Roads Program improvements completed in 2007 include reclamation of Martha’s Point, Kenney Lane, Philip Farm Road and The Valley Road; overlaying Harrington Avenue, Virginia Road*, Lowell Road* and Laws Brook Road* and the cold planing and overlay of Thoreau Street (from Main Street to 200 feet past Sudbury Road).

Sidewalks Program improvements include: Lowell Road from the bridge to 310 feet north of Liberty Street, both sides of Wright Road, Main Street from Florio Drive to Route 2, Cambridge Turnpike at the culvert, Main Street from Sudbury Road near the Concord Main Library*, Laws Brook Road from Commonwealth Avenue to Conant Street, Philip Farm Road and Kenney Lane.

The accompanying tables show that the condition of Town roads and sidewalks remains within the target range of 80-85 pci (Pavement Condition Index). Town sidewalks have also reached the condition target range and are safer to use. The Town’s investment in its road and sidewalk assets has resulted in cost effectively protecting and improving Concord’s public way infrastructure for pedestrians and drivers while avoiding a multi-million dollar backlog to be paid by future Concordians.

CPW Engineering continues to manage all consulting engineering services for all aspects of the design, engineering and permitting for the Main Street (Route 62) “Footprint Roads” Project consisting of the reconstruction and improvements to a $2.5M - 1.2 mile section of Main Street (Route 62) in West Concord from Water Street to the Acton town line. 25% Design Plans have been submitted and 75% Design Plans are substantially complete. 100% Plans are tentatively planned to be completed by February 2008 and funding for this project remains on the FY2008 tip.

Concord is a “rivers community” with a stormwater/drainage infrastructure consisting of 124 culverts, 183 drainage outfalls, 2,800 catch basins; 751 manholes; and 50+/- miles of drain lines. The Town is also responsible for six dams. CPW plans, coordinates and performs drainage improvements in conjunction with the Roads and Sidewalks Program to minimize disruptions and to eliminate expensive emergency repairs. Drainage maintenance activities are coordinated with the Division of Natural Resources and are performed under the general maintenance permit issued by the Natural Resources Commission.

In the past, CPW Engineering staff developed a Drainage System Inventory and integrated the data into the Town’s Geographical Information System (GIS). This work provided the basis for developing a 20-year Stormwater/Drainage Management Plan. The plan’s goal is to improve, protect and maintain Concord’s public stormwater/drainage infrastructure through scheduled maintenance and planned replacements and enhancements. The plan is also a key component of the Town’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (npdes) Phase II General Permit.

$160,000 was appropriated in fy2008 to continue the multi-year effort to improve the condition of the Town’s stormwater system. A major purpose of the Stormwater/Drainage Management Plan is to prevent expensive emergencies from occurring through a planned and scheduled maintenance and replacement program.

Multiple improvements to the drainage system were constructed this year. The CPW Highway Division reconstructed various catch basins, drain manholes and drain pipe throughout Town as part of the annual maintenance program. The CPW Highway Division also reconstructed three (3) existing cross culverts on The Valley Road prior to the roadway reclamation work included in the 2007 Roads Program. The existing culverts were in disrepair with crumbling headwalls and collapsed pipes. The culvert replacements were designed and permitted in-house by the CPW Engineering Division. Drainage improvements also included the reconstruction of catch basins and drain manholes on Thoreau Street as part of the 2007 Roads Program contract.

Other drainage improvement projects included the completion of Phase 1 of the Warner’s Pond Dam Rehabilitation. Phase 2 of this project is scheduled to be completed next construction season together with the commencement of the Mill Brook Culvert Rehabilitation Project. CPW Engineering facilitated public hearings and managed all consulting engineering services for all aspects of the design, engineering and permitting for each of these projects.

The FY2008 Drainage Program partially funded a study of the Mill Brook watershed as part of an Engineering Services Contract. The study purpose is to identify causes of excessive flooding of the Cambridge Turnpike roadway and sidewalk in recent years. An apparent backwater condition within Mill Brook is causing the culverts near the Crosby Pond and Mill Brook Farm to function below capacity and be unable to convey flow from larger storm events. The study is being performed in conjunction with the design of the private Crosby Pond Dam reconstruction. Based on the recommendations of the study, the Phase I portion of the Cambridge Turnpike reconstruction design will begin utilizing Drainage Program funds for fy2009 with a tentative construction start date of spring 2010.

Engineering staff continued to monitor the wearing conditions and structural integrity of the five Town-owned bridges -- Flint’s Bridge, Heath’s Bridge, Nashawtuc Bridge, Pail Factory Bridge and the Pine Street Bridge. Staff coordinated inspections/repairs/construction planning with the Massachusetts Highway Department (mhd). In an effort to expedite the rehabilitation of several of these bridges, staff continued its advocacy efforts with both mhd district 4 and State bridge officials as follows:

· Heath’s Bridge – In December. MassHighway completed all bridge-related work inclusive of concrete decking, concrete sidewalks, guard rails and binder asphalt wearing course to allow for 2-lane vehicular traffic. The temporary “one-lane” alternating traffic control system was taken out of service and “bagged.” It will remain in place for use next construction season when the contractor returns to complete the remaining drainage, sidewalk/granite curbing, guardrail, finish asphalt wearing course and punch list items.

· Flint’s Bridge – MassHighway received an apparent low bid of $3,795,065. MassHighway’s construction estimate was $3,685,125. Funding for this project has been earmarked in the FY2006 tip.

· Nashawtuc Bridge – A contract was awarded for final design and engineering services for the re-alignment of the granite parapet guard rail system. The CPC Committee also voted favorably to recommend funding in the amount of $250,000 for construction-related activities.

Concord’s gis Program continues to make significant progress and remains a “pace setter” for web-based gis communities. The integration of the Roads, Sidewalks, Stormwater/Drainage, Water and Sewer Programs via gis continues to pay dividends. The gis Phase 3 Upgrade (Aerial Flyover) Project was completed this year which provided us with new 2-foot topographic contours and continued implementation of the gis Strategic Plan. Additionally, we have also commenced work on our Council on Aging and Town Clerk Dog Licensing projects including customer complaint tracking and work order management databases linked to GIS.

· Crosby’s Corner – MassHighway has completed the 75% Design Plans and the construction schedule was revised from fy2009 tip to fy2012 tip. MassHighway will schedule Public Information Meetings in the spring of 2008 for public review and comment. Final Design 100% Plans are tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2008 with a tentative construction bid date of late summer 2009.

· Route 2/Concord Rotary – Alternatives #3, #5 and #7 remain as potential scenarios and MassHighway has selected Earth Tech, Inc. to provide eir/ea - 25% design engineering services. A contract for this segment of work was awarded in the fall of this year and will take approximately 2-1/2 years to complete. The schedule for the entire project remains between 2012 and 2014.