Mt. Vernon Street construction set to begin

LYNN – The first leg of a renovation project on Mt. Vernon Street is slated to begin Sept. 15.
Work will continue through the end of November and resume in April 2009 or earlier, if weather permits.
With a price tag of $800,000, the project will include new lighting fixtures, landscaping, new concrete sidewalks, new utilities, handicap ramps near Exchange and Silsbee streets, roadway resurfacing, and 18 angular parking spaces.
Economic Development & Industrial Corporation (EDIC) will contribute $475,000 in grant and loan funds to the project, with the remaining $375,000 paid for through federal and state funding.
Donald Walker of the Office of Economic and Community Development said the Lynn Water & Sewer Department has already completed the drainage component portion of the project.
On Sept 15 ?17, Walker said the Everett-based construction company J. Marchese & Sons, Inc., would begin its mobilization stage of setting up equipment and signage and officially begin work Sept. 18.
?They?ll begin stripping the sidewalks along the side of The Daily Item building by the front steps and then begin again by their parking lot,” he said.
Light poles bases will be installed by the end of October and the sidewalks will begin to be poured by the second week of November.
Community Development Project director John Moberger said the other side of the road would be tackled on or before April 13, 2009.
?The work would consist of the same type of work that will be done in the fall, with the sidewalks, pavement and street lights complete by the end of May,” he said.
A bus stop will be incorporated into the design with a lane of traffic designated for buses to travel.
Moberger said an architect is currently reviewing the former storefronts located underneath the commuter rail track at Central Square that are overgrown with weeds, to see what could be done to fix them up.
?There is a lot of leakage coming in those areas from up above,” he said. “So we?ll see what happens.”
Three telephones located on the street will also be removed once construction begins.
Work is expected to start at 7 a.m. and last until 3 p.m. each day.
The project is similar to that of other recent street renovations in the city, including Munroe Street.