by Bea Peterson
Quick as a wink this week the house at 38 High Street/Route 22 in Hoosick Falls was demolished and removed. Large trees have also been taken down and run through a chipper. Work is underway to repair the west side of High Street where utility poles have been tilting, sidewalks sinking and the roadway crumbling.
The house removal and road repairs are all part of a project that was discussed at length at the July 13, 2010 Village Board meeting. That meeting began with a public hearing on the purchase of the house by the State. State engineers explained that 25 to 50 feet below the roadway the ground was unstable. The storm drain put in during the 2007 Route 22 highway project was twisted and sagging. So were the utility poles, the sidewalk and the roadway.
The house was to be removed, along with surrounding trees. The plan was to reduce and widen the slope all along that property and the adjoining Village owned land. It was believed that the reduced weight would help stabilize the underground problem. The new water and sewer lines on the other side of the road have not been affected. At that meeting the engineers said the work would be done in the spring of 2012.
Work, however, is underway now. Workers there are adamant this small job will be completed in two weeks. There will be one lane traffic in that area while the highway work is underway. Right now they are working on the land beside the road and both traffic lanes are usable.
