2018 Update #33

The Weekly Review; Fourth of July; Festival Week

As the launch pit deepens, the work in Printer’s Alley is becoming both more complex and more interesting to observe. Let’s review this week’s activity and look ahead to next week.

Maine D&B plans to blast late morning on Friday and then complete this round of blasting on Monday. That will take our launch pit down to about 25 feet on its way to the planned depth of 38 feet. (Rolled black felt paper shows the location of the drilled charge holes in the photo below.)

Working at this depth requires some adjustments, the most visible of which is the use of the crane to “fly in” an excavator or drill rig to the pit bottom. For those of us unused to such things, watching the crane operator gently lift and set down an 18-ton excavator is fascinating.

To ensure the safety of workers in the launch pit, now and during the upcoming tunnel boring process, Maine D&B on Thursday and Friday next week will install dowels to secure any loose seams on the rock face. Maine D&B will also install anchors, from which a drape will be hung to protect workers in the pit from any falling rock. Rails have gone up around the perimeter of the pit and air monitoring will begin taking place in the pit bottom.

Over in Riverfront Park, Hayward/Baker is scheduled to complete its work stabilizing the slope extending from the National Bank’s parking lot to Otter Creek on Monday (see photo).

Also on Monday next week, Kubricky will begin constructing the temporary access road connecting Water Street to the Battell Building parking lot. This part of the project is expected to take two weeks to complete. During this period, we’ll see haul trucks entering and exiting Water Street from Cross Street. Kubricky is very aware of the need to safeguard our Water Street neighborhood, including the Mary Johnson Children’s Center.

Kubricky expects that work in Triangle Park will begin in about two weeks. For now, the five parking spots on Main Street alongside the park will remain open to the public.

Holiday Schedule

All construction work will halt at noon on Tuesday for the Fourth of July holiday and resume at 7 am on Thursday.

Looking Ahead: Festival on the Green

Kubricky will be halting all noise-generating activity in the central downtown between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm during the week of Festival on the Green so as not to disrupt the children's concerts that get underway each day at noon.

Here’s something you’re going to want to check out. Middlebury’s Henry Sheldon Museum will be offering visitors and locals a glimpse of Middlebury’s railroad history during Festival on the Green week.

The free exhibit, including a fabulous model train, will take place at the former diner on Merchant’s Row (next to Town Hall Theater) from Sunday, July 8 through Saturday, July 14. Exhibit hours are 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.

The first 25 kids to come will receive an engineer hat. Kids (and their parents) can follow the tracks to the railroad exhibit. (You’ll have to come downtown then to see what that means.)

That’s all for today. See you downtown.

Please keep your comments and questions coming. Send me an email at jgish@townofmiddlebury.org and I’ll try to cover it in my next update.