Back Up Driveways

The driveway between the Masonic Temple and Trumansburg Liquors has been closed off so that the new concrete can set. Concrete on driveways must have more structural strength than concrete used for pedestrian sidewalks. Hence, the concrete on the driveway must set for 3-4 days.

In order to minimize the disruptinon to the stores serviced by the aforementioned driveway (Simply Red Village Bistro, Little Venice, Trumansburg Liquors) Economy Paving has cleared an alternate route to get to the rear of those stores. Hence, if you order a pizza from Little Venice tonight it will still arrive in time as the car will exit via the driveway on the order side of the Masonic Temple. This is the driveway by Stylin' Salon and (as you can see from the picture) it has been paved over and prepared for traffic. Vehicles using that driveway to get to businesses like Little Venice will loop around the Masonic Temple. Economy Paving has preprared a temporary gravel road back there to accomodate this traffic.

Big Picture Completion

Happy Halloween from the MSP! Readers of our blog should know that the orginal project completion date was today. However, construction crews were not able to meet that day. The MSP/Village learns about project progress and scheduling at construction meetings held every other Thursday. As of the last construction meeting (October 26th 2006) Economy Paving believed it could be complete by Halloween. This schedule, however, depended on good weather and last week did not provide good weather. Thankfully, Halloween this year has brought a bit of Indian Summer to the area and crews are working fast to complete all major work today.

As of this morning (Tuesday October 31st 2006), crews from A & K Slipform were only a few hundred yards from the edge of the Masonic Temple and completion of all major sidewalk pours. Here you can find some pictures of crews as they worked around Simply Red Village Bistro and Tumansburg Liquors.

Once the major sidewalks are complete, the project will enter a "punch card" phase" where supervisors will walk the site spotting what needs to be done. As the only major work needed is the installation of the brick pavers, most of the work in the "punch card" phase will concern cleaning up and detailing. A & K will begin to pour the handicap ramp/section on all the sidewalks as a part of this final effort. These sections were left for last as they require colored/textured concrete instead of standard materials. Also, the ramps must be poured with an extreme eye for detail and now crews will have enough time to make sure they are made to code.

Crews began some of the work around the new civic plaza at the Masonic Temple today (Monday October 30th 2006). Over the past weekened, however, MSP volunteers Alan Vogel and John Ullberg built a wooden sign holder for the Masonic Temple's display sign. The orginal sign (made of pipe) stood at the center of the plaza, but such an obstruction would disrupt the flow of a civic space. The sign will now be at the side of the civic plaza (by the driveway sandwiched between the Masonic Temple and Trumansburg Liquors), held up by the brand new wood frame pictured here.

New Sidewalks Trees

As overall construction nears completion it is becoming easier for anyone to see how things are shaping up and how the finished Main Street will look. One question brought to the MSP office today was, "Where are the replacement trees going to go with all this brick in the sidewalks?"

Construction crews have not forgotten about the trees! You can see clear quadrilaterally shaped openings in some of the brick fields (like the one below by the bank) where crews will plant trees in the spring.

Sidewalks Continue!

Thanks to the great weather, crews from concrete subcontractor A & K Slipform have continued to pour/form sidewalks along Main Street. Around 1pm today, Monday October 30th 2006, workers from A & K were doing some detail work around the wet cement right by the Bikram Yoga Studio. Forms were installed from the Yoga Studio all the way to the offices of the Trumansburg Free Press. Expect to see concrete going into those forms either later today or tomorrow, Tuesday October 31st 2006.

Crews have also installed a decorative millstone in one of the brick fields by the Napa Auto Parts store. This stone was recovered from Trumansburg Creek and will now sit on Main Street as a testament to Trumansburg's historical foundation.

Sidewalk Pouring Today!

Expounding on the first post of today, crews from A & K Slipform have laid down the concrete forms in front of the block of stores that contains Gimme! Coffee, Kinney Drugs, etc. You can see some picutres below taken around 10am this morning. Crews will pour concrete on/into these forms today and will have that entire section ready for curing (i.e. drying) by the end of the day. By Saturday morning you should be able to walk on it.

Above are the forms toward Dragon Village. Below are the forms facing towards Napa and a bit of the new concrete in front of Napa. Both pcitures were taken in front of Gimme! Coffee!

Bridge Painting Tomorrow

On Saturday October 28th 2006, about 10 students from the Into the Streets Program at Cornell University's Public Service Center will participate in a local day of service by helping the MSP and other Trumansburg residents re-paint the bridge over Trumansburg creek.

The bridge was not originally a part of the Main Street work as it fell under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Transportation. The MSP Advisory committee felt that having an un-refurbished bridge sandwiched between two newly enhance sections of Main Street would look and feel awkward. Together with the Village, Economy Paving, and C & S Engineers, the MSP convinced the DOT to allow work on the bridge. This is why you see new sidewalks/curbs on the bridge as well as the upcoming fresh coat of paint.

Anyone interested can participate in tomorrow's event. Meet at the bridge right next to the Gimme! Coffee shop on Main Street at 12:30pm for event start. Work will last from 12:30pm to 3:30pm, but feel free to come and go as you like. Contact the MSP Office for more information.

Day Break October 27th 2006

A good looking weather forecast today means that crews can keep the momentum from yesterday going throughout today. A & K Slipforms crews pushed across Union Street yesterday and poured some small sections of concrete there. With forms and layouts installed in the strip of stores that includes Gimme! Coffee, Kinney Drugs, Sbrara Real Estate, and Dragon Village, expect to see concrete poured there today.

Crews have re-installed some of the street/traffic signs and will continue to do so as sections of the sidewalk finalize.

The MSP was mentioned in today's edition of the Ithaca Journal! You can read the article here on their website.

Pavement Divots

Here you can see worker from Economy Paving refilling the long treches left in the pavement yesterday. Crews prepared the base fill that formed that foundation for this refurbishing on Wednesday October 25th 2006, but left a 1-inch difference between that layer and the actual roadway. this was necessary in order for the pavement patch to have the same structural strength as the exisiting pavement. The patches will be complete by the end of the workday today.

A & K Returns!

Crews from A & K Slipform (the concrete subcontractor) are on-site and will both new concrete and set up concrete forms along Main Street. A & K will be on-site today as long as possible as the weather reports a slight chance of rain/snow. Since A & K has a lot of work to do so you can also expect them to work past the traditional 4:30 quitting time that all the other contractors use.

Sidewalk Schedule Redux

Due to the patchy weather, it has proved difficult for Economy Paving to provide a time table for the concrete pours on Main Street. The installation of the new sidewalk remains weather dependent so on any days with seriosu threats of rain you can expect to not see any A & K Slipform crews. However, as of 4:11pm on Wednesday October 25th 2006, the weather report looked promising for the Trumansburg area.

Next Year

While it is still too early to see when and how the preceding will play out, the MSP and Village have just learned that from the office of Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton that the New York State Department of Transportation will come NEXT SUMMER to slurry seal Main Street. The DOT's work will run from the Main Street/Cemetery Road intersection and then all the way to the Tompkins-Seneca county line. This work will be completely covered by the state and will not cost any Village funds.

Slurry seal is a thin layer of epoxy that will go over the pavement on Main Street and provide a weathering surface that protects that actual asphalt. The process will also make Main Street's pavement completly uniform as the epoxy will cover the existing contrasts between old pavement and new pavement. One can compare this process to sealing a driveway, albeit on a grander scale.

Many thanks to Assemblywoman Lifton for asking the DOT add their own help to the overall completion of the Main Street Project.

Hours For Upcoming Weeks

The MSP Office is right now in the middle of re-scheduling its office hours as the primary staff/volunteers in the office coordinate other external schedule obligations. The MSP hopes to announce new regular office hours sometime by early November, but will post its hours here on the blog and website for each upcoming week. Here is what you can expect this week:

Tuesday October 24th 2006: 7am-12noon

Wednesday October 25th: 2pm-6pm

Thursday October 26th 2006 and Friday October 27th 2006: 7am-12noon, 1pm-5pm

A & K IS HERE!

Crews from A & K Slipform (the concrete subcontractors) are on site after numerous re-schedulings! A & K teams are feverishly trying to pour as much concrete as possible before the expected rains make it impossible to pour concrete. A & K is currently pouring concrete around the bank area, but has also laid out concrete forms by Farrell's Car Wash and the Big M. A & K will follow the orginal plan and go up Main Street from the bank area towards the Masonic Temple and into East Main Street where wheelchair ramps are yet to be installed.

What's Happening?

Crews from Economy Paving are digging up sections of yet-to-be installed sidewalk in front of the restuarant block (Simply Red, liquor store, S & S Videos, etc.) on East Main Street. This is in order to prepare those ares for the coming tree beds along that section of the street. Crews will place structural and top soil in there as preparaton for the spring planting of the new trees.

Bricks and Sidewalks

Yesterday (Monday October 23rd 2006) brick laying crews began to install bricks on sidewalks of the south side of West Main Street. As of this morning (Tuesday October 24th 2006), three brick patches had been completed and crews were approaching those patches near New York Pizzeria and the Reverby Law Office. No engraved bricks are going in as they have not/will not arrive in time for the brick laying crews to install them. ALL engraved bricks in the first wave order have been bought and paid for! They will arrive on site sometime in mid-November and will the Village will store them away until the weather warms up in the early summer of 2007. Then teams will return to replace the engraved bricks with the currently placed blank ones.

A & K teams did not arrive on Monday October 23rd 2006 over concerns about the weather. The MSP hopes to have them on site sometime this week.

Grading Today

Crews from Economy Paving will prepare all the sidewalks along Main Street for the final expected pours on Monday October 23rd 2006. Crews will grade the sidewalks to their desired level and then flatten out the gravel. This will give the teams from A & K Slipform some solid surfaces to work on and place their concrete forms.

Free Press Article

It appears that due to a miscommunication that the Main Street Report scheduled for Wednesday October 18th 2006's edition of The Trumansburg Free Press did not make it to press! The MSP apologizes for any incovenience and is happy to present the article here on the blog.

***NOTICE***
Please note that the following article is presented exactly as it was submitted to the paper on Sunday October 15th 2006. There have been no changes to it to reflect alterations in construction and the construction schedule. It is presented here as a courtesy to blog readers and of The Trumansburg Free Press.

With fall’s chill approaching and crews trading in their orange shirts for orange sweaters the talk around Trumansburg recently has focused on construction completion. At the last construction update meeting (10/05/06) new sidewalk superintendent Terrence Rearden remained confident that all work could be completed by the expected October 31^st 2006 completion date. However, he did mention that construction remained dependent on two critical factors. The first, and the one crews can do the least about, is weather. The second factor, however, can be controlled. Street teams can only begin to place curb and sidewalks once all the utility connections are completed in an area. This is for safety reasons as teams do not want to work over exposed gas lines. NYSEG subcontractor Dekatherm is charged with completing all the utility connections and their individual progress affects overall project progress. For example, curbing subcontractor Geneva Curb was supposed to place new curbs along the north side of Main Street on Wednesday October 11^th 2006, but had to reschedule due to incomplete utility connections. However, Geneva Curbing was able to make the best of that situation and began to install curbing on Friday October 13^th 2006. By the time you are reading this article, crews should have filled the trenches on both sides of the new curb helping finish up that side of Main Street.

At the aforementioned construction meeting the Main Street Project (MSP) and the Village, along with Economy Paving and C & S Engineers, resolved to pressure NYSEG to double their crew’s efforts in town. NYSEG responded to this call and brought more workers into Trumansburg all last week. At the time of this article’s submission Dekatherm crews were just past the Trumansburg Liquor store. Only after Dekatherm completes all the utility connections can street crews come to shape up the new Main Street. Dekatherm will continue making some utility connections past the Masonic Temple, but the extent of the new sidewalks will not change.

Any and all Village resident are welcome to come by the MSP Office in the Village Office building and take a look at the plans, but as completion approaches, one can see the future look of Main Street by observing the day to day progress. The un-filled arches on the south side of Main Street will be filled in with bricks. Following up on the brick update in the last Main Street Report, it now appears that the engraved bricks in our first wave order will not arrive in time to be installed by crews. All the brick inscriptions submitted between 2002 and June 2006 were ordered and will arrive in early November, but this is past the expected completion date. As the status of our second wave of brick remains unchanged (Remember the deadline is December 31^st 2006) the Village will install both the first wave bricks and second wave bricks together in the summer of 2007. In the meantime, crews will install un-engraved bricks there to act as placeholders until next summer.

The recent work on the sidewalks along South Street and the retaining wall by the Cayuga Addiction Services building certainly do help enhance the looks and safety of Main Street, but they are not formal parts of the MSP construction. The sidewalks on South Street are financed by a private effort spearheaded by the Methodist Church and John and Martha Ullberg and the retaining wall is backed by Gregg Hoffmire. The MSP thanks these citizens for their personal efforts in enhancing the character of the Village.

All MSP Communication Pathways remain open throughout the end of construction. Even as the weather gets colder the MSP will continue to hold its 8am Tuesday morning meetings on the Village Office porch; with a back-up indoor location, of course! Our blog is constantly updated and is the best way to get up to the minute information on construction and the project. You can visit the blog at: http://mainstreetproject.blogspot.com/. You can always call the MSP at 607-387-4471 and feel free to leave a voicemail if no one picks up as the MSP voicemail is checked seven days a week. Hope to see folks taking advantage of these communication pathways as construction nears completion.

-Andres Perez-Charneco

***NOTICE***

Please note that the preceding article was presented exactly as submitted to the paper on Sunday October 15th 2006. There were no changes in it to reflect alterations to construction or the construction schedule. The MSP posted the article here as a courtesy to the readers of the column and The Trumansburg Free Press.

Parking Tomorrow

Independent crews not affiliated with the Main Street construction and/or Economy Paving re-paved the Village's municipal parking lot on Elm Street today. The parking lot can be driven on by the beginning of the work day tomorrow (Friday October 20th 2006) and the MSP/Village encourage people to continue parking in that lot as a temporary lot during construction.

No Concrete

Around 11:30am on Wednesday October 18th 2006, Economy Paving's main site superintendent, Terrence Rearden, informed the Village/MSP that crews from both concrete subcontractor A & K slipform and the brick laying subconrtractor, Syrstone, will not be on site tomorrow. This represents a change from our previous communications about the completion of the sidewalks. When asked about the delay, crews pointed out concerns about weather were the primary reason behind the delay.

Sidewalk completion crews are now expected to return on Monday October 23rd 2006. This arrival date is also weather dependent so please check with the blog for more information.

Push Forward

The rains have not slowed down construction teams! NYSEG and Dekatherm crews continue to make utility connections past the Masonic Temple and on both sides of East Main Street. Economy Paving crews also contine installing blacktop and fill around the Ron Don's/Bank area in order to prepare those areas for sidewalk pours. Crews from A & K Slipform and Syrstone are still expected to arrive on Thursday October 19th 2006 to begin the final sidwalk work, but that arrival is still weather dependent. Rains like the ones today can shut down concrete teams as the falling rain will wreck wet concrete.

Week Ahead 10/16/06-10/20/06

NYSEG subcontractor Dekatherm has cleared downtown Trumansburg and while they will continue to make utility service connections along East Main Street their departure does mean that all the sidewalks in downtown Trumansburg (except for the south side of the bridge) are ready for completion!

Crews from concrete subcontractor Dekatherm and brick laying subcontractor Syrstone will arrive on Thursday October 19th 2006 to begin completing all the sidewalks! Syrstone and A & K teams will remain on site for five work days in order to assure ample time for them to complete all the walking surfaces inTrumansburg. Of course all this work is weather dependent and crews anxiously watch the weather report for more clear days like Monday October 16th 2006.

Crews still expect to be done by October 31st 2006, but do admit that some extra days might be required if the weather turns bad. Economy Paving estimates that any extra work would last between 2-4 days.

On Wednesday October 18th 2006 an independent contractor not associated with the Main Street construction will be on site to re-pave the Village Hall's municipal lot on Elm Street. This is one of the temporary lots opened up to alleavite parking concerns in downtown Trumansburg. The MSP and Village apologize that the re-paving must be done know, but it has been in the works for a few years and will only take a day. The lot should be re-opened by Thursday Octovber 19th 2006.

MSP Office Hours on October 17th 2006

The MSP office will only be open from 8am-12noon on Tuesday October 17th 2006. In order to make up for lost time the office will be staffed from 8am-4pm on Wednesday October 18th 2006 and Thursday October 19th 2006 and from 8am-12noon on Friday October 20th 2006. The MSP apologizes for any incovenience and regular office hours will resume the following week.

Bank Image

While the original MSP FAQ addressed the question of "What is going on by the bank?", here is sketch provided by MSP advisory committee members Paula Horrigan and Rob Cassetti. It provides a good and clear idea about what the plaza by the bank will look like.
Clicking in the image will make it bigger.

You can see the outline of the plaza and the location on the replacement trees. The side parking lot to the bank can be accessed by going up Old Main Street. The main vehicle entrance to Ron Don's will be via Washington Street, but it still accessible via foot from the aforementioned banl lot and across the island between Old Main Street and Main Street.

Some work this weekend

A small independent work crew will be on-site this Sunday (October 15th 2006) in order to prepare the curb breaks/tresholds around the NAPA Auto Parts Store for completion. This is the second time that crews will come in on a weekend and the second time that that weekend work involves the area around the NAPA store. Even with the tight construction schedule, Economy Paving still does not plan to make weekend work a regular thing.

Curbing Coming In

Crews from curbing subcontractor Geneva Curbing have re-scheduled once again and will now arrive earlier than expected. New curbing will be installed on the north side of Main Street tomorrow (Friday October 13th 2006). As the curbing comes down, crews can also begin to fill in the trenches on that side of Main Street with the gravel fill that will become the base for new blacktop.

Picture Post

Do not be worried if you came to this post for some actual content/information about construction. Information posts will resume later in the day today (10/12/06), but for now please enjoy these wonderful pictures taken by MSP Committee Member John Ullberg.

Taken from the third floor of the building across from the bank. An aerial view of the concrete
pour done there last Monday (10/09/06)

Taken from the second floor of the Gimme! Coffee building. The man in the white hard hat is MSP Field Representative Ward Hungerford and he is monitoring the pour of concrete into a vault underneath the Napa Auto Parts store.



Preparing the sidewalk outside the Masonic Temple for its future look. The area will become a small civic plaza and the two shurb-trees removed will be replaced.

Sidewalks on South Street

The sidewalks jutting into South Street from Main Street have been ripped up and await new concrete. However, these sidewalks ARE NOT a part of the Main Street Project. The Trumansburg Methodist Church, along with several of the neighbors, in the aforementioned area have decided to privately repair these small spurs of South Street and create new sidewalks there. The contractor doing this job is not Economy Paving or any of its sub-contractors, instead, it is a private contractor hired by the church and the neighbors. The money used for this area was raised/provided privately by the church and the neighbiors.

The MSP applauds the Methodisht Church and the Village residents living by the South Street/Main Street intersection for their committment to improving Trumansburg's image and walkability. One hope of the MSP is for the upcoming enhancements to encourage residents to take their own measures to bettering Trumansburg with the realization that together eventually the entire Village can see new sidewalks and infrastructure.

Blacktop and Driveways

Anyone walking through the Village around 1pm this afternoon (10/10/06) probably noticed the seven NYSEG vehicles running about town and/or parked along the roadside. NYSEG has increased its effort on site in order to expedite the installation of all the utility service connections.

Elsewhere on Main Street, crews continued to fill in some the incomplete driveways along Main Street with blacktop. Please remember that blacktop comes down in layers with the coarse binder forming the base of the asphalt and then a finer surface making the final street level layer. This is why crews leave about a 1-inch difference between the blacktop and street when pouring the asphalt. Blacktop crews have finished two of the driveways by the Big M Supermarket, but must wait for the sidewalk to be poured by the Movie Gallery/Family Dollar driveway in order to begin blacktop there.

Today and Tomorrow

Crews from concrete subcontractor, A & K Slipform, continue to pour sidewalks today in this lovely cement friendly weather! Once crews finish the small section of incomplete sidewalk by the Elm Street/Main Street intersection you can the entire south side of Main Street should have its sidewalks. All that would be missing from that is to finish the brick sections and tree lawns.

A & K is also taking advantage of the holiday and finishing up as much as they can of the plaza by the bank downtown.

Crews from NYSEG subcontractor Dekatherm have increased their pace in making/refurbishing utility lines. Only until Dekatherm can finish all the utility lines on the north side of Main Street can that side of the street begin to form up. Curbing subcontractors Geneva Curbing have rescheduled for Monday October 16th 2006 changing their expected curb installation date of Wednesday October 11th 2006. Once all the curbing is finished on the north side of Main Street then can A & K return to pour concrete there.

The FAQ coming!

Here are some more answers to the hottest questions on and about Main Street. However, before we get to the actual FAQ, please read this answer to a question you might be asking yourself.

Why does the FAQ keep updating like this? Why not create a final version and be done with it?
The MSP FAQ is based on the questions and conversations coming to the MSP as construction progresses. Often questions arise as contractors move upon an area or prepare to start another phase. For example, only when work on re-doing the entrance to the Masonic Temple began did we get questions about the Masonic Temple. The MSP tries to be preemptive when writing the FAQ updates, but, by their very nature, FAQ lists are reactionary documents.

Now on to the latest round of FAQ updates. Remember that you can get a full manifest of the entire FAQ on our website.

When will the new trees on Main Street be planted?
The MSP hopes to have as many tree saplings in as possible by the end of construction. However, some species benefit from a spring planting and will be left of till the spring. All the replacement trees have been bought and paid for and will be planted either this fall and/or spring 2007.

Will all of Main Street be repaved?
No, only the blacktop that was ripped up as a part of construction will be refurbished.

Why are the contractors leaving wheelchair ramps on sidewalk curbs for last?
The conrete that goes into the actual sloped part of a sidewalk ramp will be colored and marked off to indicate that this is an inclinded plane designed for those with limited mobility. Crews are leaving those for last as they are small sections requiring extensive detail work.

It is getting cold out. Are they really going to be done by October 31st 2006?
Economy Paving and the Village have not abandoned the planned October 31st completion date. While the schedule remains tight and has little room for any serious delays, construction teams remain confident the project will be done by October 31st 2006.

Before and After

As the new sidewalks come down members of both the MSP and the contractor teams are snapping pictures of the progress on Main Street. Below you can find a picture of the new sidewalks on the south side of West Main Street. The "before" picture is already on the blog as part of a previous post, but it is recreated below for a better effect. Enjoy!

Thanks to the Library

Thanks to the Ulysses Philomathic Library for installing reminders on each of the library's public computers that refer users to this very blog! We hope that this will bring extra traffic to the blog and more informed citizens to Trumansburg. If you are a new comer to the blog then feel free to scroll through our archives and to contact the MSP at 607-387-4471 or via e-mail at tburgmainst@fltg.net. Once again, many thanks to the Ulysses Philomathic Library for helping us get the word out on how to stay informed about Main Street construction.

Notes from 10/06/06 Construction Meeting

Here is a breakdown of what was said at the last project update meeting on Thursday October 5th 2006.

South Side of Main Street

Crews from concrete subcontractor A & K Slipform arrived on Thursday October 5th 2006 and began to pour the concrete for the new sidewalks! One can now clearly see where the arches with bricks will go. The wooden square embedded in the concrete are the dummy blank outs for the blue stone tablets. The plywood blocks will be removed and either contain an actual bluestone or better placeholder by project's end.

A & K will continue to pour sidewalks on this side of Main Street both in the Village core and on the far end of town by East Main Street. On East Main Street they will pour the small incomplete sections on that strip (ex. the wheelchair ramp by the Truman Street/Main Street intersection) and re pour the driveways that were opened up for construction. Some driveways on the end of Main Street had to be regraded so crews will replace these areas.

North Side of Main Street

Crews from curbing subcontractor Geneva Curb will arrive on Wednesday October 11th and begin placing the new granite curb on the north side of Main Street. They will work their way up that side of the street running from the bank to the Masonic Temple.

A & K plans to pour some concrete around the upcoming civic plaza by the bank today (Friday October 6th 2006) as well.

Project Schedule

Terrence Rearden, new Economy Paving sidewalk superintendent, explained that the project was still on schedule, but that the schedule was very tight and there was no room for serious delays. He pointed out the crucial linchpin on construction is the progress of NYSEG's pipeline subcontractor Dekatherm. The subcontractors that make the actual sidewalks themselves cannot work in a section of the street until Dekatherm has laid down all the pipe and made all the final utility connections. Both the Village and MSP, along with Economy Paving and C & S Engineers, are right now pressuring NYSEG authorities to double the efforts of their teams.

All contractor crews will work this coming Monday October 9th 2006 (Columbus Day) and they do not usually take a holiday for this day.

Main Street/Truman Street Intersection

I just got a call from a resident asking about whether the incomplete corner at the Truman Street/Main Street intersection would be complete in time for International Walk to School Day tomorrow, Friday October 6th 2006. The MSP was aware of the aforementioned incomplete section when it decided to make the announcement about International Walk to School Day. The MSP was also aware of the inherent irony presented by this section of sidewalk.

Since the street corners around Main Street have to be made to a grade and level that can accomodate wheelchairs (as well as be marked with paint), they are usually left for last during sidewalk projects like the MSP. This allows the contractors the time to apply the detail work needed for these sections.

MSP members and Village residents have noticed people using the sidewalks along East Main Street even though the Truman Street corner is not complete. The MSP is right now pressuring contractor teams to place a stainless steel plate across that section in order to facilitate crossing tomorrow and until that section is poured.

Formal Forming Up

A & K Slipform is on site! Members of the A & K team began to lay out the forms for both the new concrete sidewalks on the south side of West Main Street as well as the wooden block outs for the bricks. However, due to the impending rain storm, they will begin to pour concrete tomorrow (Thursday October 5th) and continue pouring through Tuesday October 10th 2006.

Even More FAQ Updates

Here are the latest updates to the FAQ, which you can find archived on this blog and/or on our website.

What is happening by the Masonic Temple?
The area in front of the Masonic Temple will become a small civic plaza by the end of construction. The two shrub/trees in front of the temple were removed in order to grant crews easy access to that area. Those trees will be replaced and the saplings will become the focus of two grassy shoulders that will flank the sides of the building and the edges of the plaza.

I thought the civic plaza was going down by the bank. What gives?
By the end of construction Trumansburg will have gained two new community gathering spaces, one by the bank and the other by the Masonic Temple.

I read the Main Street Report in The Trumansburg Free Press and found the information in it to be out of date or covering an event that already happened. What gives?
The Main Street Report in The Trumansburg Free Press represents that best and most current information the project had available at deadline time. Please understand that the Main Street Report is a bi-weekly column in a weekly paper, which means that it has to cover an entire month's worth of work and updates in just two monthly apperances! A lot can happen between the article's submission (usually the weekend before it is printed) and the time it hits newstands. The MSP encourages residents to keep turning to The Trumansburg Free Press for information about the construction and everything else happening in Trumansburg, but also encourages residents to use other MSP Communication Pathways to get informed.

Communication Pathways? What are those?
The MSP Communication Pathways are the ways to get in touch with the MSP. They have been public since before the start of construction, but in case you missed them...
Phone: 387-4471
E-mail: tburgmainst@fltg.net
Location: Village Office building, Tuesdays/Thursdays 8am-4pm and Fridays 8am-12noon.

Coal Chute Windows

The two current areas with the most work on Main Street are the Union Street/Main Street intersection and the block of store (S & S Videos, Bikram Yoga, Trumansburg Liquor, etc) on East Main Street. Returning readers of the blog should be familiar with all the underground surprises that crews have met while working on Main Street. Crews have discovered pockets of concrete and construction debris that should not be there. An underground vault was found under the Rongovian Embassy to the USA and it had to be filled in before work continued. The current work around the Napa auto parts store also concerns the filling in of another surprise vault.

Another unexpected addition concerns a series of coal chute windows on the aforementioned block of stores on East Main Street. One can see this small window as he or she walks past the stores. The windows are located beneath the building's floor and have small bars in them. Each buiding has one on each side. In order to pour the sidewalks on that length of Main Street, crews have to seal those windows. Former mayor Rod Ferrentino has offered his services in helping brick off those windows and has begun his work today. While that side of Main Street still needs to have some remaining utility conduit placed and for the new curbs to come in, bricking off the windows is another requirement before the final sidewalk pour.

Masonic Temple Shrubs

As mentioned in a previous blog post (http://mainstreetproject.blogspot.com/2006/09/sidewalk-work-continues.html), and our website, and in the September 20th edition of The Trumansburg Free Press, the two small shrubs in front of the Masonic Temple on East Main Street were slated to be removed. They were removed around 2pm on October 3rd 2006 by Village Department of Public Works crews.

The trees were removed because the entire space in front of the Masonic Temple will be opened up and re-made into a small civic plaza to complement the larger one on by the Tompkins Trust Company bank location downtown. Part of the plaza by the Masonic Temple will include two semi-circular tree lawns where new trees will be replanted.

Rain delay? What rain delay?

The brief, but strong, rain shower this morning did hamper construction efforts, but has not caused any significant delays to overall construction. Crews continue to dig the trench for new utility conduit from the Masonic Temple all the past the Bikram Yoga studio so they can connect with the conduit laid down last week. Teams from Economy Paving continued to fill in the dug up areas around Ron Don's and the Tompkins Trust Company Bank in order to prepare those areas for completion.

The rain does mean that concrete will (once again!) not be poured today and that crews from A & K Slipform, the concrete subcontractor, are scheduled to return tomorrow to pour the concrete along the southside of West Main Street.

Corrections to Lately on Main Street

Last week, the MSP distributed copies of the latest installment of "Lately on Main Street" flier. Only after distribution did the MSP realize that there was a small error in the poster.

The error concerns the location of the MSP offices. While the MSP offices are on the second floor of the village office we do not mean to turn away those with limited mobility that cannot climb the stairs to get to these spaces. The Village Office building has extra spaces downstairs, which can be accessed by our wheelchair ramp, that can function as a meeting space for walk-ins. The MSP encourages anyone and everyone to come visit the Village Office building regardless of their mobility. An MSP representative will find a space to accomodate any interested citizen.

All incorrect copies of the flier have been removed and a correct version will be installed either later today (October 3rd 2006) or early Wednesday October 4th 2006. Thank you for your understanding and patience.