Many Marlborough residents have been asking why work to clear and prepare a site on Route 9W for a 5,000 sq/ft Dunkin Donuts/Convenience store has ground to a complete halt.

Supervisor Al Lanzetta said the present hold up is due to concerns from the Department of Transportation [DOT]. He is trying to arrange a meeting with acting DOT Director Lance MacMillan, County Executive Mike Hein, Dave Corrigan, project owner Mickey Jamal and his Director of Facilities Scott Parker to address two issues that the DOT has flagged on the project.

The DOT is seeking to have the developer mill and repave the west traveled lane and shoulder to allow for the correct crowning of the roadway, while blending in all of the disturbed areas impacted by the project. In addition, the DOT wants the same thing done to the east traveled lane. These actions would increase the amount of milling and repaving from 36,000 sq/ft to 71,000 sq/ft.

The DOT also wants the developer to remove and wholly replace the depth of the shoulder material on the west side of Route 9W.

In a letter, Scott Parker states that the work requests from the DOT would substantially increase the scope and cost of the project.

“We believe that our proposed plan was appropriate and that this increase in scope is unwarranted. Additionally, by increasing the scope of work the cost of the project has pushed us into a requirement to pay prevailing wage rates,” he wrote. “All of this put together adds up to an increase of over $400,000. This is on top of the already exorbitant costs we are facing widening the road, moving the utilities, regrading town roads and private property.”

Lanzetta has fully supported bringing this project to the town and has the support of NYS. Sen. William Larkin and the late NYS Assemblyman Frank Skartados.

“Frank came up with $250,000 for the Route 9W sewer improvement and then Sen. Larkin also added $250,000, possibly to go up to the industrial park. So that being said, the town has done everything in its power to help this project move along, which is important to the Town of Marlborough” he said.

Parker said after they chipped out the amount of rock on the backside of the site that they thought was needed, they discovered a lot of “incompetent bedrock,” which required a re-engineering of the retaining wall.

“Once we removed the actual dirt and did the chipping we found we had to remove a little more rock to get down to what was solid enough to build the retaining wall on top of,” he said, adding that this necessitated a 25 percent increase of the retaining wall.

Parker said now that the re-engineering is complete, the excavating company, B&K Excavators, will be able to return and continue processing and crushing all of the rock on the site.

“Right now we’re hoping to get them back in about two weeks but we’re starting to get the retaining wall blocks onto the site,” he said. “What happens is from the rock that’s there, they pour a concrete bench on top of that and then they build up with those retaining wall blocks to the height that we need.”

Parker said at the meeting with the DOT he is hoping to reach a compromise on what they are requiring from the developer.

“The comments we got back from them [DOT] was the scope is a little more than what we had expected and more than we feel is necessary.”

Parker said the developer will be widening Rte. 9W on its western side in order to provide additional surface for a turning/acceleration lane in the middle of the roadway. The DOT is also asking for additional milling and resurfacing, “on portions of the eastern side of the road that we are not touching.”

Parker said a number of telephone poles on the western side of the roadway will be relocated.

“The town has been supportive and are establishing a sewer district to allow the project to hook into a line when it is installed, hopefully in the spring” he said.

Parker said before the winter sets in he believes they will have the foundation of the building and possibly the shell in place.

“By the time we hit January and February we’re hoping to at least be working inside a building envelope, have it framed out and have a roof on it so we’re out of the weather and provide some temporary heating in there,” he said.

Parker is anticipating a late spring or early summer Grand Opening in 2019.