Photo: Construction Work Begins on New Merrimac Police Station

MERRIMAC — Construction on the first standalone police station in Merrimac’s history is now underway.

Chief Eric Shears is pleased to announce that sitework has begun at 2 Jana Way, the future home of the Merrimac Police Department. Erosion control has been put in place, and the first trees were cleared this week.

Work began Monday, May 13. A public bid process was won earlier this year by LD Russo Inc. of Harvard, the lowest bidder of six contracting firms that competed for the project.

“Working with our Owner’s Project Manager Bill Cunniff of NV5 and our Architect Greg Carell, we have designed a solid police station for our community,” Chief Shears said. “We are very excited to see the construction work begin, and I am grateful to our community for their unending support and contributions to this project.”

Merrimac residents voted in November 2018 to fund the design, engineering and construction of a $6.5 million facility after a lengthy public process.

Bid documents were available electronically on February 12, 2019. Sub-Contractor Bids were due March 5, 2019. General Contractor Bids were due March 14, 2019. The project was very competitive, and the top three bidders were within $222,000 of each other. The Merrimac Board of Selectmen awarded LD Russo the contract on April 1, and it was signed on April 16.

The project was designed and put out to bid with the main building and five optional alternates, which would be added depending on the bids. The alternates include the following:

• Metal Roof — Important based on community feedback, long-lasting
• Out Building/Garage for equipment and specialized vehicles
• Carport for all-weather vehicle access
• Second access road to Rt. 110 in case main driveway became blocked
• Designer landscaping

At this time, only the main building with the metal roof will be built. The department is exploring grant funding, donations and other possible sources of funding to possibly add the other alternates.

Construction is expected to be completed in March 2020. A formal groundbreaking ceremony is tentatively scheduled for June 6. Details will be announced shortly.

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