Last modified: Sunday, April 22, 2007 10:47 PM EDT Road to new industrial park stalled BY GEORGE W. RHODES SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - Construction of a road needed to open the city's new industrial business park and help get downtown revitalization underway has been delayed for months, sparking frustration from redevelopment officials who blame the state for the problem. No road means the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority can't move companies into the park. And the inability to move businesses into the park throws an extra hurdle into plans for downtown work because one major firm that needs a new home to make way for revitalization is headed for the park. ARA Executive Director Michael Milanoski said the plan to move Automatic Machine on Wall Street into the long-planned 189-acre business and industrial area off County Street is a crucial step in clearing the way for sweeping redevelopment in the center. Work on the road was to have started in January. Milanoski and other ARA officials blame delays on MassHighway, which is in charge of the road project. Milanoski said the agency hasn't been clear about what has gone wrong. "I'm trying to get to the root of the issue," he told the ARA board. "But I'm getting a little finger pointing. It's out of our control." Board member Don Smyth said the situation is vexing. "If we can't put a road in, we can't put (companies) in," he said. But a MassHighway spokesman said the main problem has been some unanticipated federal regulations. And the roadblock will be gone soon, he said. Stormwater regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must be followed before the job can begin, said Erik Abell, a spokesman for the state's Executive Office of Transportation and MassHighway. "There was some additional paperwork required by the EPA. It was something that was not expected to be needed," Abell said. "But that paper work is in the process of being finalized right now. We expect the contractor to be out there in the next week or two." The state is paying the $7.4 million bill for the 1.2 mile road that will run from Tiffany Street to County Street along the southern edge of the park. Walsh Contracting of Attleboro will build the road. Part of the delay was caused by vandals who removed stakes marking the road's route in January. ARA officials are also worried about losing potential tenants for the industrial park if the project is slowed. They claim they have at least one Rhode Island firm which is interested in the new park. However, that company is on a tight time line and needs a schedule soon. The company could go elsewhere if the park cannot meet its deadline, the ARA says. GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.