May 7, 2008 Update

The DOT project is well underway. This week (May 5 – 9) the Main Street (Rt. 66) has been dug up. Excavator operators showed their incredible skills in scooping up huge chunks of pavements and carefully loading the debris into dump trucks…a well-orchestrated event. Business owners and shoppers alike have been fascinated with the work done. Window seats in restaurants along Main Street are favorite spot from which to view the activity!

There is plenty of parking available on side streets and in the parking area beyond the Kinderhook Bank (the former train station). No construction work will be done on weekends. Come in to the Village and check out our progress!

May 5, 2008 Update

Main Street is closed to vehicles. The weather is perfect and Colorusso Construction is making amazing progress. Most of the west side of Main Street is already gone, thanks to a humungous excavator which is eating up the pavement at an astonishing rate.

There is still convenient parking (see earlier blog) and access to every store and restaurant on Main Street. Sidewalks are clear and safe to walk on. Everyone is open and ready for business, so come down and enjoy the construction as well as the shopping!

May 1, 2008 Update

Paving is almost complete on Kinderhook Street and Park Row, so work can begin on Main Street soon.  Expect Main Street to be closed on Monday, May 5 (perhaps not at the crack of dawn, but sometime during the day, so don't park on Main Street!). 
 
Once Main Street is closed, Park Row and Kinderhook Street will be the detour route.  Kinderhook Street will be open to two-way traffic, and there will be parking on one side of the street.  There will be parking available on both sides of Park Row; 10 spots on the Memorial side, one large spot by Main Street for delivery trucks, and 8 spots plus a handicapped spot on the other side of Park Row.  Weather permitting, the Park Row parking areas will be painted on Monday, so that it will be clear where one can and cannot park.
 
Every store and restaurant on Main Street and Hudson Street is, and will be, open for business, same days and hours as usual.  Main Street will be open for pedestrian traffic throughout the duration of the DOT project, so strolling from store to store will be an option, as always.  Get it on Main Street!

April 24 , 2008 Update

On Monday, April 28th, DOT is scheduled to begin work on Chatham's Main Street.  The Main Street may be closed to traffic (except emergency vehicles), however shops and businesses will be open. You might want to call your business destination to check on hours during construction. There will usually be no construction taking place on weekends.

Parking will continue to be available in the lot adjacent to the Dollar Store. There is plenty of room in the lot near Dunn's and the Kinderhook Bank. Kinderhook Street also is a convenient parking location. 

Drainage work in front of the Blue Plate Restaurant is almost done and the Main Street work will tie into this line. On Main Street itself the roadway will be replaced, sidewalks will be replaced, a new water line will be installed. We can look forward to a great downtown area in just a few months. 

This is an exciting project. It is interesting to watch the DOT team do their work.  Come into Chatham. Bring the kids. Watch the scoops, the dump trucks and other equipment transform Chatham Village. Remember to slow down and be extra cautious in the Village as there will be new traffic patterns during construction. Tell a DOT worker "thank you" for the work he/she is doing. Enjoy the Village!

April 11, 2008 Update

Park Row Drainage will be completed by April 11. The loss of workdays due to weather, and encountering some rock in the excavation area caused the addition of one week to the original estimate.

Work will be ongoing along Park Row under a separate contract between the village and Colarusso for water main installation, starting the week of Aril 14.

The state project work will now progress to Center Street (Route 66) for drainage installation. The work, although not as per the previous schedule, will be progressed over the next two weeks. This will give the drainage from Main Street a place to outlet.

Close Main Street - April 28 - August 28 (four months)
Parking will be eliminated along Park Row during these times. During Main Street closings some parallel parking will be available.

Work will be ongoing at various other locations during this time, within the project limits, with possible lane closures during the day.

Please note that this schedule is an estimate.

2008! Brrr… a cold beginning. The Department of Transportation reconstruction project is experiencing a temporary shutdown due to the weather.

As early in the spring as possible, Colarusso Construction will begin the work on Main Street. Since the water lines need to be replaced, workers have to wait for the permafrost to be out of the ground before beginning this major phase of the project. Once construction begins, Colarusso has four months in which to complete the work on Main Street. The plan calls for a new street surface, new waterlines, and nice, even sidewalks. Towards the end of the 2-year project granite curbing, period lighting, bicycle racks and nice trees will be installed. 

During this Main Street portion of the project Colarusso Contracting will, at times, close Main Street to all traffic (except emergency vehicles). When possible, one lane may be open for drop offs and pick-ups. However, this cannot be determined until Colarusso is on site.

Even when the Main Street is closed to traffic, stores and restaurants will be open for business. There will always be clear sidewalks for pedestrians to use. Since construction will usually end each day by late afternoon, businesses will adjust their hours to take advantage of the non-construction hours. Parking will be clearly designated. Check cocotodo.com and/or chathambusinessalliance.org for regular updates as to hours and parking availability.

After the Main Street portion of the Chatham DOT project is completed, the work will shift to Hudson Avenue. Since the road is wider in this part of the Village, two-way traffic will usually be maintained as the work progresses.

The end result will be a Village with a renewed sense of self. All that we love about Chatham will remain – the historic architecture; the friendliness of a small village; the shops, businesses and restaurants that we all know and love.