HADLEY — Pending permission from town officials, dump trucks driven by workers handling the Route 9 widening project could soon be rolling throughout the day from a property on Mill Valley Road.
Baltazar Contractors, Inc. of Ludlow, which is contracted for the $25 million state project that begins this spring and could run through 2026, this week requested use of an undeveloped agricultural site, next to solar arrays, as its staging area.
Justin Roy, project manager for Baltazar, told the Planning Board last week that the land is owned by Allard’s Farm. It would be used by the work crews, each of which has one or two dump trucks making about 10 trips a day, and to store various equipment and material, such as pipes and crushed stone.
“Everything we do would be temporary during the construction,” Roy said.
Larger pieces of equipment, such as excavators on tracks, would be parked more locally, Roy said, rather than moving daily to and from the sections of Route 9.
Board members advised Roy that they have no official oversight, but are mostly comfortable with the plan due to its temporary nature, even though it would be taking up a portion of land zoned residential and agricultural.
Board Chairman James Maksimoski said it will not be pleasant there or on the Route 9 corridor during the project.
“It’s going to be a disaster for the next four years, to put it bluntly,” Maksimoski said.
The project includes widening to three lanes between Hadley center and the malls, with two travel lanes most of the stretch and a dedicated turn lane in the middle. The project also includes rebuilding South Maple Street between Route 9 and where the Norwottuck Rail Trail crosses.
Board clerk William Dwyer said that with the vehicles at the staging area likely to access the state highway via South Maple, using intersections with traffic signals, there will be less of an impact for the residents whose homes are at the western end of Mill Valley.
Still, Maksimoski said those residents should expect “extreme interruption” during the duration.
Approval for the staging area will likely be needed from the Select Board for access to the public way. “You’re going to be driving some really big stuff on there,” Maksimoski said.
Dwyer also advised that if Baltazar needs to install new culverts for the dirt road that accesses the property, due to the heavier vehicles that will be crossing, the company will likely need Conservation Commission approval to make sure wetlands aren’t impacted.