This week, officials in Northampton, Massachusetts, affirmed a massive overhaul of a downtown artery is still on the horizon – but won’t go out to bid for at least another year. All the while, costs have ticked up.
Wide, bending and subject to parades: Main Street in downtown Northampton may be one of the most unique roadways in western Massachusetts.
It’s where Routes 5, 9 and 10 meet, many of the city’s small businesses call “home” and traffic of all kinds barrels through, from cyclists to tractor-trailers.
Almost just as unique: the amount of hurdles and planning that’s gone into overhauling it since at least 2019, including a recent discovery that misaligned gas lines meant more delays.
The resulting costs being covered by Eversource and other news was the subject of a lengthy joint city council meeting Monday, May 18, featuring one of the biggest updates on the city’s “Picture Main Street” efforts in some time.
“We anticipate the ‘Right of Way’ process to begin in late-fall of 2026 and those … agreements are anticipated in spring of ‘27 – then, we'll finalize plan specifications and estimates and other bid documents by spring of ’27 for bidding in summer of 2027…” said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra.
This, after officials said last year that 2026 might be when Picture Main Street construction starts in some form. Before that, fall 2025 seemed to be when the three-year process would kick off, eventually translating to separated bike lanes, an overdue rebuild of sidewalks and overhauls of travel lanes and crosswalks.
The price tag has changed, too. According to the mayor and city planners, Picture Main Street is now up to at least $43 million in estimated costs – far higher than the $29 million figure that was kicking around as late as last year’s election season.
One thing that’s remained steady throughout the whole project - how contentious it’s proved to be with a number of residents, whether it’s how much the city is actually spending on the effort, the inevitable traffic that will stem from construction or, as Jim Winston emphasized Monday, the apparent loss of on-street parking.
“The loss of 57 parking spots on Main Street is very significant. So, my question is: how does removing of all this parking, including the parking from [R. Michelson Galleries] down to CVS - 18 spots - and nine spots across the street from Urban Outfitters to the First Church… how does that help the Main Street businesses?” he asked. “Does the city have any plan to financially assist those?”
Concerns of lane reductions have also surfaced throughout the process. The city argues that despite claims of Main Street sporting as many as four lanes in spots, “upper and lower Main Street” sport one lane in each direction – the misperception being a symptom of just how wide the road is at certain points: about 90 feet, Streetsblog Mass reports.
Lane narrowing and traffic slowing are goals of the project. That, and updating sidewalks that haven’t been rebuilt since the early-80s, Sciarra says.
Speaking in favor of the work, Ward 4 Councilor Jeremy Dubs - a wheelchair advocate and user - emphasized that sidewalk widening, curb cut revamps and other additions that come with the work wouldn’t just be new amenities – they’re sorely needed.
“… and with a sidewalk project of this size - of this magnitude - it's something that we haven't done in the city for more than 40 years, and the urgency of it just cannot be understated,” said Dubs. “The wider sidewalks that are going to be happening with Picture Main Street are going to … not only will they offer more space for disabled people to maneuver around, they will also make outdoor dining more accessible, because the majority of the outdoor dining on Main Street is not accessible for wheelchair users.”
The costs, though, remain a sticking point for many. During her presentation, Sciarra stressed that state and federal funding is still footing the majority of the project’s costs - about $31.5 million.
However, it’s the additional $11.8 million the city’s either spent or will spend that’s raised red flags for some. Critics of the plan have pointed out the “local share” of the project costs appeared to have grown significantly as well, from early estimates of over $3 million.
The mayor indicated at Monday's meeting that at least $3 million was being covered via American Rescue Plan Act funds, in addition to several million in the form of state grants, Chapter 90 funding and Community Preservation Act dollars, among other sources.
Various project design costs and water and sewer upgrades fell on the city, Sciarra added.
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Audio for this story was provided by Northampton Open Media.
This piece originally aired on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
