In a separate project, crews have set speed humps on Sunset Avenue and McClellan Street to slow motorists using the roads as a shortcut to Massachusetts Avenue and UMass.
Speed humps have been set at Sunset Avenue, pictured here, and on McClellan Street in Amherst in an attempt to slow traffic. AMHERST – Contractors on the Atkins Corner project at Route 116 and Bay Road will work extra hours to advance the job before students return to town next week.
The state gave the Ludlow-based Baltazar Contractors permission for the extended hours in an attempt to get the project to the point that it wouldn’t cause detours and delays, said Amherst Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford B. Mooring.
He said “they’re trying to get everything all buttoned on (Route) 116 before the students to get back next week.” Crews will be working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., he said, and there will be detour around the corner from now until Wednesday with motorists using Rambling Road and Country Corners to get to Route 116.
The redesign is intended to improve safety and traffic flow with the use of roundabouts at Route 116 and West Bay Road, and at Route 116 and Bay Road. The road will be slightly wider.
“We don’t expect detours through the neighborhood when this work is complete,” Mooring said.
In a separate project finished before the students were due, town crews last week set speed humps on Sunset Avenue and McClellan Street to slow motorists using the roads as a shortcut to Massachusetts Avenue and the University of Massachusetts.
Speed humps will be placed on Lincoln Avenue after the roadway is repaved. Lincoln Avenue is also used to get from downtown to the university. Mooring said he doesn’t expected the speed humps on Sunset Avenue to cause motorists to divert to Lincoln Avenue.
Mooring said the town will be finalizing the list of roads to be paved in next year’s schedule sometime in November or December.
The town is in the midst of a $4.5 million road improvement project. Both Sunset and McClellan have been repaved.
Mooring said motorists should travel between 20 and 25 miles per hour over the humps, which are marked by white strips and some signs.
He said also said Spring Street should be repaved before the arrival of the students. The municipal parking lot on that street will be repaved also, but it is not expected to reopen before the students return.
The paving, however, is contingent on the weather, including Hurricane Irene which may hit Massachusetts next week.