Chester road work completion expected by mid-October

CORRECTION: The article in last Wednesday’s Telegraph incorrectly spelled Jacquie Dagesse’s last name.  Also, the map in last Wednesday’s paper was taken from a Pike Industries illustration. We have updated it with current information. See map below.

By Cynthia Prairie
©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The 2.7 miles of road work that begin last Wednesday in downtown Chester is expected to be completed by Oct. 15, while upgrading the at-grade railroad crossing at the Chester Depot just north of Lisai’s Chester Market is expected to be finished by early November. However, that date, according to Jacquie Dagesse, of EIV Technical Services of Williston

The dotted lines show the extent of the road work area in Chester. The yellow dots along Depot Street indicate the work the Town of Chester is paying for. Click to enlarge.

Dagesse reiterates that while the roads won’t be closed and drivers will not be rerouted, traffic will continue to be taken down to one lane around the construction with “short delays” expected.

The cost for the road work is $2.6 million, with 81 percent of the project covered by the federal funds and 19 percent coming from state coffers.

Chester, however, is covering the cost of the work on the town-owned Depot Street from the Jiffy Mart north to the intersection with Maple Street. According to Town Manager David Pisha, that work is expected to cost around $100,000.

Dagesse added that while an earlier map from Pike Industries indicated that the work along Route 11 (Main Street) would end at Church Street, it will in fact extend to Lover’s Lane.

Dagesse says the at-grade work consists of constructing a new concrete grade “crossing at both the mainline and siding tracks to match the new pavement grades on either side, resulting in a smooth transition at each rail crossings. This project also includes the construction of a new rail-highway crossing active warning system at both mainline and siding tracks.”