Crews replacing sidewalks in Saugus

SAUGUS – In direct response to the perceived will of Town Meeting the Department of Public Works has hit the ground running on sidewalk projects.DPW workers toiled Tuesday as the temperature reached past 80 degrees replacing a portion of sidewalk on Lincoln Avenue. On Winter Street an outside contractor followed suit. DPW Superintendent Joseph Attubato said he is using both inside and outside help because he has received a lot of calls for sidewalk repairs, which he is trying to answer.”And we’re trying to work diligently with the Sidewalk Committee,” he added.It was only a little more than a year ago that Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian played a slideshow for his colleagues pointing out the deteriorating sidewalks all over town. As a result the Sidewalk Committee, which he now chairs, was formed and areas around town were prioritized.This past spring meeting members voted to earmark $92,000 of state highway money specifically to tackle the committee’s list. The Chapter 90 money can only be used for roadwork and the remainder will go toward resurfacing.The first two sidewalk projects are small, Attubato admitted.”We’re not doing the whole sidewalk in front of the cemetery,” he said. “We’re only doing what has to be done.”Likewise along Lincoln Ave. workers are only replacing the sidewalk directly in front of and just south of Harborside Health Care.However, Attubato said there was a much larger sidewalk project in the pipeline.”I’m in the process of getting specs for sidewalks from Lincoln Avenue and Central Street to Hurd Avenue,” he said. “We’ll do granite curbing and they’ll have the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) required ramps.”Attubato said he hopes to begin the project by the end of July.Manoogian said he is pleased to see the work getting done so fast.”It’s a small step but an important small step,” he said.Manoogian said the Sidewalk Committee, which also includes Attubato, would meet again in September to review what needs to be done next.