Attleboro School's New Digs is One Step Closer to Being Complete [VIDEO]

It has been a long journey for the staff at in Attleboro who have spent years raising funds, designing and constructing a new facility on North Main Street and that journey is nearly over, except for one roadblock. 

That roadblock consists of both a utility and traffic light pole that blocks the entrance to the school's brand new digs on North Main Street and across Holcott Street. The issue has been a problem for more than a year.

Markman's Chief Executive Officer, Dianne Bardsley, is happy that the a crew from Walsh Contracting has finally began removing cement and curbing from the area that was designated as its entrance.

A crew spent the morning jackhammering the sidewalk and curbing, which was recently put in place thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and removing rock from the location.

"We are thankful that  work is being done to complete our entrance, Bardsley said. "We had hoped to see the work completed prior to our move, which was supposed to happen at the beginning of July but did not occur until October 31."

What caused the road block? According to Bardsley, the city had a few glitches with the awarding of the contract for re-locating their traffic signal.

"As far as the sidewalk, there was confusion  - long ago we were told by the state highway department that the light could not be moved - that is why our original plan called for an offset intersection, with our egress just along the north property line," she said. "The City of Attleboro Traffic Commission disagreed with our city approved plans, causing lots of redesign to be needed."

The situation was brought up to a group of state officials including Rep. Betty Poirier, Rep. George Ross and Sen. Richard Ross who were taking questions from the audience during a Rep. Poirier said the problem with the Markman driveway was not an issue at the state level.

The city owns the light and Bardsley would have needed a curb cut permit in either case.

According to Chairman of the City's Transportation and Traffic Committee , Markman's initial design for the facility was for an off-set intersection because the Markman driveway would not have lined up with Holcott Street. 

"When this was brought to the attention of the Traffic Study Commission by a commissioner, meetings were held to address the obvious safety concerns with such a design and the potential for negative impact on traffic flow," White said. "Markman Daycare undertook a traffic study and a more traditional intersection alignment was agreed to. As part of the redesigned intersection, some utilities are being relocated."

"Our attitude has evolved to "all is well that ends well" now that we are finally open in our fantastic new child care facility," Bardsley said.