Streetscape funding plan advances
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A project that will result in repaving much of Broadway in Midtown is expected to be completed in July 2021, a city consultant said.
At a meeting Wednesday, the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee moved forward resolutions authorizing the city to award contracts for its Broadway Streetscape project and borrow an additional $1.3 million to cover the cost. Those resolutions will go to the full council next week for consideration.
If the resolutions are approved, the city will seek state Department of Transportation authorization to award a $7,386,782.65 contract for the project construction to Peter Luizzi & Bros Contracting of Albany.
Kristen Wilson, director of the city’s Office of Grants Management, said Kingston will be responsible for about 40 percent of the project’s total cost. The remainder will come from various state grants, she said.
The total cost of the project, including the design and construction, is $9,133,248.65, according to the city’s resolution. Of that amount, $5,455,900 will be reimbursed through grants. The city’s total cost is to be $3,677,348.65.
Wilson said the council previously authorized borrowing $3.4 million to cover the Broadway Streetscape project’s cost. With the additional $1.3 million being requested, the city would borrow a total of just over $4.7 million, she said. Wilson said some of that amount will be reimbursed by grants, but she said it is necessary to ensure the city has the cash flow to pay for the project as it proceeds.
Christopher Cornwell, vice president of Greenman-Pedersen Inc., told the committee there is no work schedule available yet from the contractor. He said, however, that tree cutting as part of the project will occur before the end of March.
“They’ll do a lot of the utility work and the streetscape work this year,” Cornwell said. “And then the paving and the final striping will be done next year, as the last process of the project.”
He said the project is to be completed by July 15, 2021.
Greenman-Pedersen Inc. is the city’s engineering consultant for the Streetscape project, as well as a separate project to realign Broadway’s intersection with Pine Grove Avenue and Grand Street.
City Engineer John Schultheis said the Streetscape project will include the length of Broadway from the planned roundabout to be built by the state at Albany Avenue and Col. Chandler Drive to within 50 feet of Grand Street. He said the project will stop short of Grand Street to allow for the realignment of the intersection there.
The Streetscape project is designed to improve the infrastructure of the corridor. The design calls for Broadway to be reduced from four traffic lanes to two in the project area, with a third lane strictly for vehicles that are turning. The entire road will be repaved, and traffic lights will be synchronized.
The project also is to include sidewalks that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and amenities such as benches, recycling containers and bus stops, as well as a dedicated two-way bicycle lane and bike racks.
It also will include “green” infrastructure elements, such as bioswales, or landscaped drainage areas.
On-street parking in the project area is expected to be reduced by 25 spaces to make way for crosswalks, bus stops, loading zones and bike lane visibility. The city also plans to remove all the parking meters in the project area and replace them with payment kiosks.
The installation of the kiosks would be a separate project.