August 2, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
Work on the new public safety facility at 335 Lincoln St. is underway.
During a project update this week, Project Manager Matthew Hennessy, who is at the site daily, shared a slide show of how the preliminary work is progressing with the Select Board.
The construction process is moving along, including installation of fencing, temporary utilities, and work trailers, erosion control, removal of soil to the Hingham DPW soil storage facility and of the former wood building, concrete slab, and foundation walls, and tree protection.
This was the first project update since the $39.5 million contract was awarded, according to Public Safety Facility Building Committee Chair Bob Garrity.
The project start date was May 15, with the substantial completion date set at Jan 14, 2025, and the final completion date scheduled for March 26, 2025.
As background, voters at the Nov. 2022 Special Town Meeting approved the appropriation of up to $46.7 million to construct and furnish a new public safety facility, with an expected lifespan of 50 to 70 years. Hingham Police Department and Hingham Fire Department operations will be combined in the building.
Prior Town Meetings authorized funding totaling $8.6 million for the initial phases of the project, including a site feasibility study, land acquisition, preliminary design documents, and pre-construction bid documents.
“Sixty percent of the site is covered by concrete slabs from the WWII days when there was a large building there,” Garrity said.
“A lot has happened since May,” Select Board Chair Liz Klein said. “It’s exciting.”
According to Garrity, the project is “right on schedule — so far so good.”