Just a few more weeks of navigating through all those orange cones on Lake Avenue, before Oak Bluffs residents and visitors finally will have a series of interconnected walkways and more sensible traffic routes through the congested intersection. The project, which reconfigures roads and sidewalks from the Steamship Authority ferry terminal to the harbor, should be done this month.
“I’ve been assured by the contractors they will be out of town by Memorial Day,” highway superintendent Richard Combra Jr. said.
For weeks, state construction workers have been installing new granite curbing and brick sidewalks.
Before, residents and visitors trying to navigate the heavily used area at the foot of Circuit Avenue had to walk out into the street where sidewalks suddenly vanished, vehicles squeezed through narrow lanes in some areas, and cruised along 20-foot wide traffic lanes in others.
Mr. Combra said the project has gone smoothly. “There’s been a few adjustments we had to make to accommodate some large trucks,” he said. “We’ve addressed a lot of concerns from business owners. Their indificual concerns have been met to the best of our ability.”
He said trucks delivering goods to Reliable Market originally had trouble negotiating a corner near the Flying Horses Carousel. He said that, once the adjustments were made in the curbing, the trucks have made deliveries with no problems.
At Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting, Mr. Combra also said the construction at big bridge and little bridge is ahead of schedule. He said the traffic lights will be gone, and two lanes of traffic open before Memorial Day.