Frogtown Road and Helena Road Undergoing Redesign
Dec 7, 2016
AKWESASNE — The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Planning and Infrastructure Department is continuing to make roads safe for travelers by making necessary repairs and improvements to roadways throughout the Akwesasne community. Following a busy road construction season that saw several road conditions improved and one new road built, Planning and Infrastructure announced two more roads are now undergoing redesign — Frogtown Road and Helena Road.
“At the March 2016 Monthly Tribal Meeting, Planning and Infrastructure presented information on road construction projects for this past season,” said Planning and Infrastructure Director Ernie Thompson. Thompson added, “We shared an update on efforts to maintain and keep our roads safe, as well as received input from community members that helped prioritize roads also needing improvements, which included Frogtown Road and Helena Road — though the time for the actual construction of both roads has not been determined.”
In anticipation of the two road projects, the Tribe’s Office of Grants and Contracts submitted a request for bids in Kenténha/October 2016 to four engineering firms registered with the Tribe. A selection process of the submitted bids was conducted, with AES Northeast of Plattsburgh, NY being the successful bidder. As a result, the Tribal Council signed an engineer service agreement with the engineering firm during their weekly work session on Tsiothóhra/December 7, 2016; which is now being finalized by AES. A similar service agreement is envisioned for River Road and the Cook Farm Road in the coming weeks.
Starting this week, Atlantic Testing Laboratories (ATL) will be taking six-foot deep samples to determine pavement and soil characteristics, which will aid in the design process. In addition to Frogtown Road and Helena Road, they will be taking samples from River Road, Cook Farm Road, Tarbell Road, Beaver Meadow Road, Ransom Road and Pumphouse Road. The Subsurface Investigation and Geotechnical Evaluation reports of Frogtown Road, Helena Road, River Road and Cook Farm Road will be provided to AES Engineers to aid in their design.
The work will typically be conducted by two ATL workers and entails the use of a Geoprobe, which resembles a miniature well drilling machine and uses hydraulic-power to bore rods into the roads for retrieving samples. While the sampling is being performed, orange caution cones will be placed around the work area and a flagger will assist with traffic.
Travelers are being asked keep this work in mind and to exercise caution when approaching these work areas. As the road projects move into their construction phase, Planning and Infrastructure will provide notices of anticipated closures and delays for traffic and any inconveniences it may pose for homeowners in those areas.
If you have any questions, please contact the Planning and Infrastructure Office located at 12 Gray Street, former-HAVFD Fire Station #1, located in Akwesasne, or call (518) 358-4205.
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PHOTO CAPTION: Atlantic Testing Laboratories has begun taking pavement and soil borings of eight roads in Akwesasne for their future redesign.
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The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is the duly elected and federally recognized government of the Saint Regis Mohawk People.