MIDDLEBURY — Construction crews are now finishing up work on the newly installed temporary rail bridge on Merchants Row, and downtown traffic is expected to return to normal on Friday, Aug. 12.
It was in June that crews began installing temporary rail bridges on Merchants Row and Main Street as a precursor to a $52 million project to replace the two 1920s-era spans with a concrete tunnel. That big project will begin next spring.
Meanwhile, traffic has been restored to Main Street and the same will soon be true for Merchants Row, according to Jim Gish, community liaison for the rail bridges project. Workers on Thursday were laying down a top coat of asphalt, and they continued to install fencing around the perimeter of Merchants Row to ensure safety for pedestrians.
Gish noted Kubricky Construction employees have been getting some nice “thank yous” for their work. Danforth Pewter officials recently presented the Kubricky crew with some bulldozer key rings, accompanied by the message “We dig you. Thank you from your friends at Danforth Pewter, Middlebury.” “The guys were touched by this generous gesture,” Gish said.