$5.9M reconstruction of North Main Street in Sandwich set to start in June

A year-long project to reconstruct a portion of North Main Street in Sandwich is set to begin in early June.

The $5.9 million project involves the reconstruction of North Main Street from the north railroad right-of-way to Knights Road near Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital in Sandwich. Fischer Excavating Inc. will be doing the work.

Don Ryba, of civil engineering company Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc., said lane closures and detours related to the project should start in early June.

As those attending a pre-construction open house on May 22 learned, the current pavement on North Main Street is at the end of its service life and needs to be reconstructed. In addition, sidewalk ramps will be replaced and upgraded to meet current accessibility standards and sections of failing storm sewers will be replaced.

The water main is being replaced from Second Street to Arnold Street to improve water quality and flow and a few sections of sanitary sewer with inadequate pitch will be replaced.

The project is being funded in part by approximately $2.9 million in federal funding, with the rest covered by the city’s general and enterprise funds.

“It’s mostly a full reconstruction,” Troy Strange, of civil engineering company Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, told the residents at the open house. “We’re not quite replacing all of the curbs and all of the sidewalks, but a good portion of the failed curbs and sidewalks. We’re also going to be reconstructing the pavement.”

The plan is to do the work in two construction seasons.

“We’re going to reconstruct the entirety of the west side of the roadway this summer and then all of the underground utilities this summer,” Strange said. “And then we’re going to get the first asphalt layer on the west side complete.”

Traffic will be reopened to two-way traffic in the winter, he said. Next spring, work will begin on the east side of Main Street.

The project is set for completion by mid-June in 2026. During the project, residents living along North Main Street will be able to enter and exit their driveways and park at individual houses overnight.

“I believe we’ve got a really good plan in place to minimize the disruption and allow people to access their properties without nearly as many challenges as we otherwise could have,” Strange said.

Water services will be transferred after the installation of the new water main. All residents will receive at least 48 hours’ notice prior to any service disruption and no water services will be disrupted before 8 a.m. on a workday.

To ensure everyone’s safety, those who drive the wrong way during the project will be ticketed.

Sandwich Mayor Todd Latham noted that some motorists drove the wrong way during last year’s Latham Street reconstruction project.

“We did notice that when the Latham Street construction happened, we closed lanes and people still insisted on driving the wrong way,” he said. “Very dangerous incidents occur because people didn’t want to respect that. We don’t want to jeopardize anybody’s life or property in the process.”

Northbound access to the hospital will be maintained during the project.

“Northbound traffic will stay on that side during stage one,” Strange said. “And then during stage two next year, we’re going to shift northbound traffic to the west side, which will have been reconstructed. We’re going to swing from one side to the other, depending on the side that we’re constructing. Access to the hospital was something that we prioritized through every planning step.”