A little over a month before the scheduled start of a taxiway resurfacing project at Hanscom Field, residents are raising concerns about contaminated dust.
If that sounds familiar, it may be because similar concerns were voiced in advance of a much larger project a few years ago – to no avail.
The points were raised at Tuesday evening’s virtual meeting of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, during a discussion of the planned rehabilitation of 50,000 square feet of pavement known as Taxiway November, scheduled to begin on Aug. 3.
The project has been slotted on the Massachusetts Port Authority’s capital improvement calendar since 2017.
Project organizers estimate that 400 dump trucks laden with asphalt will enter the airfield off Hartwell Road, at an access point near the former Navy hangar. The project is expected to take a month, but officials have said that most of the trucking will occur during the first few days.
More of an issue in Tuesday were the 400 trucks departing the construction site carrying milled asphalt.
“Will stuff being hauled out be tested for things like lead contamination?” asked Christopher Boles of Concord Road. “Because it is liable to be contaminated and will be carted through residential neighborhoods.”
His spouse Jennifer Boles pointed out that the taxiway was part of the airport’s original runway network, which makes it more than 60 years old and likely to be loaded with lead.
The taxiway project particularly resonates with residents who were traumatized almost four years ago when Massport resurfaced Hanscom’s long runway, a project that continued day and night for a month, with thousands of round-trip dump truck trips.
Amber Goodspeed, Hanscom’s manager of airport operations, used that project as a benchmark for the next one, comparing variables like resurfacing area (50,000 square feet now, 2.2 million then); and truck trips (800 two-way trips now, more than 7,000 then). August activity will be weekday business hours only, she noted.
Four years ago, neighbors called for trucks to be hosed down before leaving the project site to deter spread of any contaminants, but that didn’t happen. Tuesday Jennifer Boles noted that in 2017, she witnessed departures with “clouds of dust bouncing off the trucks,” even when the loads were covered.
Goodspeed said she will research whether lead containment has been considered. HFAC Chair Chris Eliot asked Goodspeed to inform the commission if the contractor will be required to test for lead and deter possible contamination. She wondered whether Bedford takes similar precautions when milling asphalt from town streets.
Asked if the haul route will be designated along Concord Road east or west of the intersection with Hartwell, Goodspeed said that won’t be known until subcontractors are identified. Boles pointed out that in either case, residents in Bedford and at least one contiguous town could be affected by contaminated dust.
Asked whether truck drivers will be prohibited from using noisy “jake brakes” in residential areas, Goodspeed said she didn’t have specific information but would expect that all traffic rules would be obeyed. Emily Mitchell asked if there are plans to use cones or barriers to ensure proper turns by oversize trucks from Concord Road onto Hartwell Road, Goodspeed said they will follow any requests made by the chief of police.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Loading ...
