Charlie Baker recently announced that the City of New Bedford was awarded a $2.5 million MassWorks Infrastructure Grant to pay for upgrades on Union St.

Zeb Arruda, Commissioner of the New Bedford Department of Public Infrastructure, told WBSM News that the funds will be used to perform an entire overhaul.

"We're going to be redoing sidewalks, curbing is going to be reset, the utilities underground are being looked at as we speak, we're first going to replace a couple of sewer lines, a water main, and then we're going to do all the above ground work," said Arruda.

The work will focus on the area going from Water St. to Sixth St. that is in desperate need of an upgrade.

"The water main, if memory serves me correct, is nearly 100 years old, it needs to be replaced, and the sidewalks in some areas of that are in deplorable shape, the lighted pedestrian intersections need to be updated, it needs to become a pedestrian friendly thoroughfare through downtown New Bedford," said Arruda.

Arruda says the take work is expected to take roughly two to three construction seasons to complete and that during that time area businesses will receive notice about any potential disruptions the work may cause.

"We're going to reach out to the public, we're going to speak to the business owners, make sure that traffic plans are in place, that the construction is phased and with the least amount of interruptions to the businesses downtown," said Arruda.

Arruda says he expects work to begin sometime between late winter and early spring.

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