$2.2M Oxford Sewer Project Underway
State and local officials were on hand today for the groundbreaking of the Oxford-Dudley-Webster Sewer Extension Project, which is supported by $2.2 million in MassWorks funding. The project is part of the area's plan to spur economic development, which also includes the expansion of IPG Photonics Corp.
"As our administration continues to invest in cities and towns, the MassWorks Infrastructure Program is an effective tool to improve local infrastructure, create jobs and support business development," said Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray.
In January, Murray announced a $2.2-million MassWorks Infrastructure grant to the town of Oxford for the Oxford-Dudley-Webster Sewer Extension Project which will extend 3,300 feet of gravity sewer in Oxford and 4,400 feet of force main in Dudley and Webster and include a new pumping station.
According to Murray's office, the project is expected to create economic development opportunities along the sewer extension line in the near and long term. Businesses in the area also expressed a need for the new sewer line in order to locate and expand there. The businesses in the vicinity of the project collectively pledged $100,000 to advance its design.
The most immediate private development project to advance as a result will be an expansion by IPG Photonics Corp. IPG has grown from 40 employees in 1990 to more than 600. Its expansion project was approved by the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council in December 2011 for $1.7 million in tax credits; it's expected to create 175 new jobs and retain 600 jobs. Construction on IPG's expansion began in December and is scheduled for completion in the fall.
The sewer expansion project will also allow for more than 50 acres of land to become buildable.
The MassWorks Infrastructure Program, which is overseen by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (HED), held its first competitive grant round in September 2011, consolidating six capital budget programs to give communities a single entry point and one set of requirements for state public infrastructure grants. HED awarded $63.5 million in grants to 42 communities throughout Massachusetts for public infrastructure projects that have begun in the spring and summer.
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