Mild winter good for construction jobs

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - While the lack of snowfall doesn't have everyone cheering with joy, construction projects are fairing well.

Construction projects, such as a stump grinding project in West Springfield, are something that rarely gets worked on this time of year.

Lack of snowfall and our mild weather has really helped construction crews out and projects that involve digging are also much easier thanks to only a shallow layer of frozen ground.

Construction crews are able to clean out catch basins of debris, fix pothole damage, prepare area parks for springtime and even pour concrete at times.

All of the work they're doing now should put crews in a good position come spring.

"I've been doing this 27 years and this is probably the first time we've been doing these kind of projects during the winter as far as I remember,’ said Vincent Desantis of the West Springfield DPW.

Hot patching of asphalt is one of the few projects that has stopped this winter. The companies that make that asphalt usually don't start churning it out until March after stopping for the season in December.

Desantis told 22News the ground is usually frozen down a couple of feet making digging difficult, but this year the ground is only frozen down a couple of inches making the ground much easier to dig.