Update On Aberjona Widening Project

New schedule to come out this week, completion date slated for summer.

  The Aberjona River widening project has been underway since September of 2011 in order to prevent flooding. According to Assistant Town Manager Mark Twogood, new developments for the project adjacent to the Mystic Valley Parkway have a revised schedule coming out this week. “The contractor who is working on installing the sheet metal which divides the river has until Saturday, the end of the month, to complete this critical phase in development,” Twogood said. (See photographs) As Winchester Patch reported, some $25 million dollars worth of flood damage has been sustained due to the Abejona River and the current project is set to widen the river by 15 feet. “The town has applied for waiver to work in the channel once the sheeting is …

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Winchester Residents Concerned About Flood Plan

Residents upstream of the Aberjona River, in the Brookside Avenue area, are concerned that they will still face flooding until this project is completed, which may take up to 20 years.

Joe Lucherini is uninsurable. He estimates that his home has had over $20,000 in flood damage over the last six years from the Aberjona River, while the value of his house continues to decrease. Lucherini doesn’t expect his problem to go away anytime soon. According to the Brookside resident, while the town continues to work on its flood mitigation program, it could take Winchester almost 20 years to finish the project. The Brookside area, which is located upstream, is last on the town’s list of areas to fix. “Twenty years down the road is too late,” Lucherini said. “We need to address this immediately. There are life-threatening conditions that exist here and now. God forbid there’s a fatality. That’s not going to be on my chest.” But …

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Winchester River-Widening Project Falls Behind Schedule

The river-widening, which was expected to be completed by November, now may not be done until February.

For the last two months construction crews and heavy machinery have been working on widening the Aberjona River, along Mystic Valley Parkway. The project will widen the river by 15 feet, which would limit the amount of flooding from the Aberjona. Construction needs to take place during the river’s low-flow period, which is between July and October. However, because of delays in permitting the project didn’t start on time and the completion date has now been pushed back. “We’re running a little behind,” Assistant Town Manager Mark Twogood said. According to Project Manager, Meg White, the contract doesn’t expire until June of 2012, at which time all work, including the landscape improvements need to be completed. The river-widening, which …

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Question of the Day: Thoughts on Aberjona Project

Let us know your thoughts to the question below.

The Aberjona River-widening project began last week. The town will  widen the river by 15 feet, which would limit the amount of flooding from the Aberjona. Construction needs to take place during the river’s low-flow period, which is between July and October. The Aberjona is to be widened between Waterfield Road and Mystic Avenue to minimize the amount of floodwaters that overflow onto Manchester Field and into the Manchester Road neighborhood. Over the last 15 years, Winchester has suffered more than $25 million worth of flood damage due to the Aberjona River. Now that it has begun, what are your thoughts of the project? Has it impacted your drive down Mystic Valley? Is there less parking in town? Let us know your thoughts.

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Week in Review: A Tropical Storm, Back to School and River Widening

A look back at the week's most notable stories.

After much fanfare, Hurricane Irene reached the Boston area on Sunday, bringing with it wind and rain that caused some minor flooding and several downed trees. Winchester Patch live blogged through the entire storm, the transcript of which you can find at this link. While many area communities saw severe home damage and others were without power for several days, Winchester fared a little better, and the Aberjona River widening project found no further delay. Patch presented pictures of the work and several readers have already weighed in on the project. A new school year began this week and with came new cameras for second grade teachers. Things were new this week at the McCall Middle School, as well, with a new principal. Winchester …

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PatchCast

PatchCast: Major Pot Bust, River Widening and the Stanley Cup

A video roundup of the area's latest developments for Friday, Sept. 2.

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Heavy Rains Lead to Localized Flooding in Winchester

Parts of Cross Street needed to be closed early Wednesday morning because of flooding.

With all the rain it was bound to happen. The Aberjona River spilled over and flooded parts of Cross Street early Wednesday morning. The Department of Public Works had to close the area by the railroad bridge from 2:30 to 4:30 a.m. According to Fire Chief John Nash, there was no report of property damage. “These thunderstorms, those quick, heavy rains often lead to localized flooding,” Nash said. Beginning over the next few weeks and continuing into the fall, the town will begin a project to widen the river by 15 feet, which would limit the amount of flooding from the Aberjona. Construction needs to take place during the river’s low-flow period, which is between July and October. “Winchester is prepared to do the river-widening between …

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Aberjona River-Widening Project Still Waiting to Begin

The river-widening project should begin in the next few weeks.

Winchester is still waiting for the final permits to be approved in order for the Aberjona River-widening project to begin. The contractor has been assigned and trees have been flagged that will be removed, but according to Assistant Town Manager, Mark Twogood, construction can’t begin until the town receives all the necessary permits. According to Town Engineer, Beth Rudolph, there’s no timetable as to when those permits will be approved. “The town has spent close to a million dollars for permitting,” Twogood said. “It’s been a very long process. Everything has been laid out and we needed to take everything into consideration, but it’s something that needs to get done.” Beginning over the next few weeks and continuing into the fall, the …

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