Hines Hill Bridge design, recreation center study among 2025 projects
by Judy Stringer
Hudson City Manager Thom Sheridan once again declared the state of the city “is strong” in his 2025 address.
Sheridan delivered his remarks during the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, held at the Country Club of Hudson on Feb. 13, sharing 2024 highlights and challenges as well as a glimpse into major upcoming projects, including the construction of a Hines Hill overpass, a recreation center study and the onset of city-provided residential broadband.
In his speech, Sheridan listed Hudson’s 225th anniversary, a new city flag and the 40th anniversary of the sister-city relationship with Landsberg am Lech, Germany, as major highlights in 2024. He also cited the completion of Peg’s Foundation headquarters and the foundation’s involvement in the restoration of the 200-year-old Baldwin-Buss House as two additional high points.
On the financial front, Sheridan said Hudson “ended ’24 with a positive fund balance,” bringing in $122 million in revenue against $114 million in expenses. Those expenditures include $16 million in capital investments to roadways, waterlines, storm systems, electric systems, parks and sidewalks.
“The city has also spent $15 million on new sidewalks between 2021 and 2024, and we plan to continue with more sidewalks over the next few years,” the city manager told the crowd.
Layoffs at Joann Inc.’s Hudson headquarters and the Aug. 8 flood in the northeast portion of the city were chief among 2024’s biggest challenges, according to Sheridan.
“We had two low pressure cells dump like 7 inches of water in a couple of hours in that area. And we did have some flooding and other issues along the roadway in front of the high school and other areas that we are going to work to resolve,” he said, noting that downtown stormwater improvements made after a flooding event in 2003 “really did work.”
“Neither 91 nor 303 flooded. The Barlow Community Center ponds held back a 500-year storm in that area, and it saved our downtown,” he said.
Moving ahead to 2025, Sheridan anticipates Hudson will spend about $113 million and receive approximately $97 million, relying on overages from recent years to continue to “reinvest in infrastructure and new buildings” without eating away at its “healthy” cash balance. He said more than $21 million in infrastructure investments are baked into this year’s budget.
Community investment
2025 projects include a redesign of the downtown Phase 2 area with a focus on housing and community space. Sheridan said key stakeholder discussions and analysis by the resident-led comprehensive plan study are helping guide Phase 2 next steps.
He added that the city is also following up on “another key interest” that came out of the comprehensive plan committee’s work – a recreation center.
“[Hudson City] council has appointed a subcommittee to explore options for the city, studying alternatives and surveying the public to determine a design and cost estimates for this facility in the coming year,” Sheridan said.
Closer at hand is an initiative to offer residents broadband through the city, beginning this year.
“In 2025, the new Fiber to the Home initiative will be released and it will provide 10-gigabyte speed to our residents who do not currently have fiber in their neighborhood,” the city manager explained. “The plan is to install the system over a four-year period at a cost of $18 million.”
Sheridan said broadband was “one of the highest ranked needs in our community within the comprehensive plan” and will give the city “an advantage to entice professionals to live and work in Hudson.”
Among other ongoing projects is a new clubhouse at Ellsworth Golf Course, slated to open this summer, and an inclusive playground at Middleton Park, which is awaiting notice on grant funding.
Sheridan was especially proud to announced that “the Hines Hill Bridge project is finally moving forward,” saying Hudson has secured $16.5 million in state and federal funding to build an overpass above the railway on Hines Hill. Design work is expected to begin in 2025, with construction to be completed in 2030.
“The new bridge will be located just south of the existing roadway, allowing the current crossing to remain open during construction,” he said. “This bridge has been in the works for over 18 years, and it will help our safety forces, minimize mutual aid calls, make it safer for our school buses and promote economic development to the area.” ∞
Featured image: The 2025 State of the City attendees were the first to see a conceptual drawing of a planned Hines Hill overpass.