With the warmer weather now hitting the area, the Tillson/Toc realignment project in Lloyd has once again resumed. It will continue through the summer months and, barring any unexpected surprises, is expected to be finished by the fall.

Supervisor Dave Plavchak said they are not only digging up part of his yard, as his home sits on the corner of Vineyard Avenue and Toc Drive, “but they’re digging everything up.”

On March 29, local traffic has been impacted on Tillson Avenue and Toc Dive but Vineyard Avenue is still open.

“Right now, the plan is to close the whole Vineyard Avenue intersection on April 10,” he said.

Plavchak has again spoken with the Department of Transportation, “and they are in agreement with me to put up a temporary light at Chapel Hill and Route 44/55. They didn’t agree with it the first time I asked for it last year, but I found some people who would listen, I guess is the best way to say it, and they agreed that one should be put out there. And if you’re going south on Route 44/55 you get to that blind left hand turn onto Chapel Hill.” Plavchak said this light is important from a safety perspective because of the expected increase in traffic during construction due to detours and re-routing.

Plavchak said when they fully close the intersection, “people up past Toc Drive will have to go up Tano Drive, up Hilltop Drive and they will have to go down Brescia or Reservoir to make a right onto Vineyard Avenue and go out to Chapel Hill. If they want to come into town, they are going to have to take Chapel Hill to Route 9W and make a left and come down Milton Avenue.”

Plavchak said this project will be, “an absolute pain for four or five months; there is no other way to describe it. It’s going to be a big inconvenience but the beauty of it is the intersection will be aligned, you have new sidewalks and you’ve got the retaining walls on the properties. It should look good and be more functional and more walk-able, so I think the end game is good.”

Plavchak said this is also an excellent financial deal because the town’s 5% share amounts to $350,000 for a $7 million project. He added that the Mountainside Woods development project also kicked in $250,000.

Plavchak said if they did not do this alignment project, “and if that bridge or culvert ever collapsed from deterioration, it would be an emergency and you have to shut down. At least this time we’re able to plan for it, set up the details and go after it. There is a lot of utility work to be done right in that intersection because we’ve got water, sewer, gas pipes and fiber optics there.”

Plavchak said the company told him that they will finish by late September, “and I’m going to hold them to that as best I can.”