27 August, 2021
With drainage work for the Main Street Corridor Project nearing completion, the Town is now preparing for the next phase of the project which will include work related to the undergrounding of utilities. This undergrounding work will begin with the installation of six underground electric manholes (vaults) on Main Street between Wood Street and the intersection of 85/135. The vaults range in size but will generally require the excavation of 8' x 15' and, in some cases as large as 15’ x 11’pits, with the installation of each vault scheduled to take three days.
The coordination of this work kicked off on July 28, 2021 with a site walk that included, Police, the Town Engineer and DPW Director, VHB (town’s engineering consultant), MassDOT and the contractor A.F. Amorello & Sons to review and revise the traffic management plans required for this work. The original plan the contractor submitted to conduct this work included the closing of Main Street for several days and setting up detours. The Town rejected that plan and all parties have worked together to update the schedule of operations for this work.
The plan for this work now includes the following:
● To expedite work, the contractor will work from 7am to 3pm, Monday through Friday, and, if necessary,
the Town will allow extended working hours up to 7pm to keep the schedule on track. No weekend work
is anticipated.
● Until the vaults are installed, steel plates will be placed over the open excavation and be surrounded by
concrete barriers and traffic barrels. The size of the open excavation will be too large to allow vehicles
to drive over them even with steel plates covering the hole.
● Detours during the day and overnight are not anticipated and are not being scheduled.
● Main Street will remain open at all times with at least a minimum of one lane of alternating traffic around
these work sites. More details regarding traffic management will be available after the submission and
approval of the contractor’s final traffic management plans.
● Drivers are encouraged to seek alternative routes during the duration of this work.
● If one way traffic is required, flashing message boards will be updated with a message that there will be
one lane ahead and to seek alternate routes.
The anticipated timing for this work to begin is within 2 to 3 weeks and it could take 4-6 weeks to complete. More detailed information will be provided prior to the working beginning and will be included in a future update.
For more information about the Main Street Corridor Project, please visit the project website.
● Project website: https://hopkintonmainstreet.com/
● Project contact: mmurdock@hopkintonma.gov Cell: (339) 223-5377
