Gold and Yellow Sections - Clearing Right of Way for Construction
Some or all of right of way (ROW) will be impacted by the road construction in the Gold and Yellow sections. The Road Commission owns the ROW, which includes the street itself as well as land on either side. By rule of thumb, the ROW will include the area between the street and the sidewalk, but it may extend past the sidewalk and into front lawns. Where there is no sidewalk, the ROW may extend 5-7 feet (perhaps more) into the front yard.
One of the first steps in the construction process will be removal of existing curbs, which may be visible or buried under layers of asphalt. The excavation sub-contractor will then dig a trench in the ROW, and prepare the area for underdrain to be laid. Once in place, the underdrain will accumulate water from the sidewalk and front yards, funneling that water into the catch basins. This will help preserve the roadbed by preventing water from getting to it. We currently do not have underdrains.
The trenching in the ROW will destroy any landscaping, walkways, boulders, sprinklers etc. in that area. In areas where there are sidewalks, the area between the street and the sidewalk will be impacted by the road construction. Where there are no sidewalks, residents should assume the project will impact the area up to 5 feet from the street. (If the contractor needs to go further than 5 feet from the street, the Road Commission will notify impacted residents individually.) The Road Commission has requested that residents take the following steps to prepare the ROW for construction:
Flag sprinkler heads and mark sprinkler lines. The project landscape contractor, Mike’s Landscaping, will move the heads and lines out of the project area. Residents may choose to have their own contractors move sprinklers/lines instead, but will not be reimbursed for doing so.
Remove any boulders and landscape plantings (bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc.) Some have had success with transplanting into other areas of the yard (or into pots) for the construction season, and replanting after the project is complete.
Remove decorative front walkways or any other hardscape materials in the ROW. These materials should be stacked to the side for Mike’s to reinstall after the construction work in the ROW is completed. If hardscape areas are not removed from the ROW, Mike’s Landscaping will remove them and stack the materials to the side. However, some residents have were more comfortable having their own contractors removed these materials, thinking there would be less cracking or breakage. In particular, residents should have their own contractors remove blue stone areas in the ROW as it is difficult to find matching blue stone if there is breakage.
At the end of the project, Mike’s Landscaping will restore the areas impacted by construction with topsoil and sod. Sprinklers will be repaired and reset. Mike’s will also re-lay the brick pavers/bluestone removed for construction. It is important to note that Mike’s will not restore landscape plantings (shrubs, bushes, flowers, etc.)
Questions? Contact Wayne Dabrowski of the Road Commission at wdabrowski@rcoc.org with a copy to Mark Meszler at mmeszler@roadrehab.solutions.
Please see RCOC flyers on this topic: