One of the longer streets on Watertown’s Southside will soon begin to be reconstructed after the City Council approved funds for the project on Tuesday.
The City Council approved the borrowing of $2 million to cover a portion of the $2.6 million project, said City Manager George Proakis. The rest will be covered by funds set aside by the City for other street and sidewalk capital projects. The Morse Street project is part of the Long Streets and Connector Road Program.
Morse Street will be totally reconstructed, with a new 24-foot-wide roadway and 5-foot-wide sidewalks on both sides, said Watertown Public Works Superintendent Greg St. Louis. There will also be some other additions to the street, which runs from Galen Street to Watertown Street.
“It includes seven tree trenches, one raised intersection at Union Street, and one raised crosswalk at approximately 35 Morse St.,” St. Louis said.
The street is not wide enough for bike lanes, St. Louis said. There will be new stop signs at North Park and South Park streets, and the south-side parking restriction will be maintained, he added.
The project initially included Fifth Street, but due to rising costs of construction that part of the project was removed, St. Louis said.
The low bidder was A.R. Belli, at $2.08 million. The project budget also includes $320,000 for construction administration and construction services — to be provided by Bobrek Engineering & Construction — and a 9.5 percent construction contingency — $197,792.
Councilor Tony Palomba asked what is the anticipated timeline for the project.
St. Louis said the contract will be awarded after the Council vote, and he expects the work can begin “immediately.”
“It is easily a full season (of construction), so it will probably continue into calendar 2025,” St. Louis said.
Councilor Lisa Feltner noted that the residents of Morse Street were first contacted by mail a year ago, and asked if anything had changed since then. Also, she wondered if another letter would be going out about the start of the project.
No changes have been made, St. Louis said, who added that designs for the Morse Street Reconstruction Project can be seen on the project website (click here).
Letters about the Morse Street project will be sent to residents this week, St. Louis said.