By Jared T. Miller
Construction work continues to define Fulton St., but with a new twist: A Gold St. detour that has some locals concerned.
The new detour diverts traffic around the construction in the middle of the street as well as the construction vehicles parked alongside it. The latest construction, which began in June, involves the installation of new utilities, curbs and concrete road base in the north lane of Fulton St. A flag-waving construction worker is present to direct the relatively moderate amount of traffic that occurs during work hours, and the intersection is occasionally staffed by a traffic officer. However, several residents of nearby Southbridge Towers consider the intersection a dangerous one for pedestrians.
“It’s a very dangerous development. There should be a police presence here monitoring it,” said Paul Hovitz, 63, a member of Community Board 1 and a Southbridge resident. He explained that the large population of senior citizens and parents pushing strollers “needs to have a reliance that they are safe crossing the street.”
Fulton St. work to replace a water main and complete other underground work began in 2007 and will continue at least through next year. Several plazas will be built as part of the work.
