The Wellesley Department of Public Works early next month plans to remove the “brick” crosswalks at the intersection of Washington and Church streets, per a request from the Select Board. The crosswalks will be replaced with a paved surface and a new design will be stamped on them and tested later on, as discussed this past spring.
The condition of the current crosswalks is rough, and noise from vehicles bumping through the intersection has bothered neighbors.
The crosswalk “bricks” are actually concrete pavers, says Elizabeth Gildae, superintendent for the Highway Division. “These will be put with other spoils in the Highway Yard and crushed to provide fill material for other jobs.”
Gildae’s team is seeking to get word out to the public about the impending project slated to start on Sept. 3, with work scheduled from 7am-5pm. She acknowledges this project is not an easy one and will be disruptive in terms of noise, detours, temporary loss of parking spaces, and metal plates. “Our plan is to divide each crosswalk into thirds or quarters allowing two lanes of traffic to pass through during construction. We’ll be working closely with the police to direct traffic. The work will take 3 weeks to complete,” said Gildae.
Night work is planned for only Sept. 6 and 7 from 9pm-6pm in an effort to minimize Washington Street traffic while crews are working. Work will happen on Saturdays.
(Post updated on 8/27/24 with fresh info on scheduling.)
Similar crosswalk work has taken place in the past at Linden Square.
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It would be wonderful if the town could address the other crosswalks along Route 16 in a similar or even (gasp) worse condition. I refer specifically to the two at Denton Road by St. Andrew’s church and the one between Upway Road and Wellesley College. Thank you.
Those of us who use that crosswalk frequently will be relieved to have a crosswalk without pavers that suddenly become loose, pop out, and leave holes in the crosswalk. I’ve seen people trip and others twist their ankles.
This is absolutely a safety issue.