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November 1, 2007

N. Kingstown: Main St. pipe replacement under way

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Construction workers today used a back hoe and a saw to dig a hole in Main Street, part of a two-month project to replace old water pipes with new ones.

The A. DiFazio Construction company in Cranston started the $600,000 job yesterday. Workers will replace 60-year-old steel water pipes with less corrosive ones and upgrade the drainage system.

The work is part of a $2 million project to make over Main Street, which boasts the oldest water lines in town, Public Works Director Phil Bergeron said.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” he said. Once the water lines are in, crews must rebuild the old road and repair or replace broken and uneven sidewalks. “Hopefully, that work will start in the spring,” he said.

National Grid last month replaced old gas lines on the street, Bergeron said.

Main Street stretches only about 1,560 feet from the intersection of Brown Street to the town wharf.

But it’s a busy part of Wickford’s retail center.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Davis

Some shop owners lost sales when construction crews tore up Brown Street during the busy Christmas season several years ago.

Already, the town has erected signs notifying residents and visitors of a weekday parking ban on Main Street, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

But the shops won’t close and there is parking elsewhere in the village, Bergeron said.

“There’s never a good time to do this kind of work,” said Bergeron, but only a handful of stores are located at the entry to Main Street. Work crews will tackle that area first, he added.

“I’ve been in touch with the shopkeepers and merchants,” Bergeron said. “Our goal is to open up the parking as soon as we can, clear out of the area on Fridays and not look like a construction zone.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:00 PM | Permalink

November 1, 2007

N. Kingstown: Main St. pipe replacement under way

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