State Street Sidewalk & Lighting Project

Description of the Project
The project took place within the State Street right-of-way limits from Main Street westerly to the Taylor Street/Governor Davis Avenue intersection.

Work included:
  • 6 new trees
  • Drainage alterations
  • New granite curb
  • Reconstruction of sidewalks
  • Street lights
State Street Sidewalk and Lighting Project Area Map
Involved sidewalk is described as being 5 separate sections, excluding previously reconstructed sidewalks such as on the north side from the Court House to Governor Davis Avenue, and on the south side in front of the Christ Church, and on both sides of the Rialto bridge. Combined sewer overflow (CSO) work was also performed on the west end of the project along the frontage of the Capital Plaza Hotel and within the Taylor Street intersection. The sidewalks were replaced in this area.

Schedule


The construction began on June 2, and took approximately 150 (days). Hebert Excavating, which did the sidewalk project in the vicinity of the post office in 2001, was the general contractor. Most of the firm's subcontractors were local and included Gendron Building and Wallbridge Electric. Hebert Excavating began the project at the Capital Plaza where an old storm / sewer main was replaced and then worked their way toward the intersection of State and Main Streets. Tackling 1 section of the project at a time, Hebert Excavating minimized the impact of the project on local businesses.

Access to stores and businesses was maintained at all times and the contractor devised a way to pour sidewalks to minimize the impact on storefront businesses. Half of the sidewalk was worked on at a time, with the goal of replacing the portion of the sidewalk next to the buildings at the end of the day, allowing it to dry over night and to be ready for pedestrian traffic by the next morning. Sidewalks adjacent to buildings were pulled up and replaced in each segment of the job as rapidly as possible. The portion of the sidewalk next to the curb took longer to replace because of work on setting conduit and bases of the light poles.

Tentative Schedule


The tentative schedule was as follows:
  • By the end of July, the new storm system, curbing and sidewalk was completed and light bases installed from Taylor Street to Christ Church on the south side (Capital Plaza side) of the street.
  • By the middle of July, the project moved toward the center of town with work on storm drains, electrical systems, including trench crossings at the Elm St intersection.
  • August saw the installation of light bases north side (Court House side) and more storm drain work at the intersection of State and Elm Streets.
  • Curbing and sidewalk work continued into September from Elm Street to the Rialto bridge, with sidewalk and curbing work beginning 1st on the south side on the north side by early September.
  • The last stage of the work was storm drain, light bases, curbing and sidewalk work from the Rialto Bridge to the intersection of State and Main on the 1st on the north side by middle of September and then to the south (State Street Market side) by the end of September and into October.
  • The project was scheduled to be finished by October 29th.
The State Street sidewalk and lighting replacement project was one of the largest public works projects in downtown Montpelier in 20 years. Business owners and pedestrians had long been looking forward to the replacement of the rough, uneven asphalt sidewalks and ugly, inefficient lights. Store owners were open for business throughout the construction and enjoyed seeing all of their customers in the midst of the project.

Weekly informational meetings were held at City Hall on Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. The public was invited to attend those meetings.

Preliminary Project Plans


Full sized plans are available for viewing at the Department of Public Works Office in City Hall (39 Main Street).


Departments & Committees Involved


Departments and Committees involved included:
  • City Council
  • Development Review Board
  • MDCA (now Montpelier Alive)
  • Parking Committee
  • Planning and Community Development Department
  • Public Works Department
  • Tree Board