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08/20/2019 03:54 PMAs summer wraps up, Guilford has finished the bulk of its road work projects, though a handful more are looming on the horizon.
Every season presents different problems for road infrastructure, whether it is potholes caused by frost, floods due to heavy rain, or cracks from coastal erosion. First Selectman Matt Hoey said the town’s plan is always “to stay on top of it as best we can.”
That works for smaller issues that pop up all the time. Larger or annual projects require much more planning, as well as expertise, though so far this year Guilford is keeping up with those, too.
“In terms of any new paving projects, I don’t anticipate anything significant this year,” said Town Engineer Janice Plaziak.
The town just wrapped up an annual chip sealing project that focused on the Long Hill Road and Podunk Road areas, Plaziak said, which was possibly the last major project of the summer.
Chip sealing, which uses oil and gravel to fill minor cracks and can increase the lifespan of a road, is considered maintenance that extends the life of roads between repaving, Plaziak said.
Another important project was repairing the sea wall near Falcon Road, which was damaged by storms last winter. Crews finished those repairs early in the summer.
The urgency of that task, however, along with a rainy spring caused some small delays leading into the rest of the town’s projects, but Plaziak said they were back to work by July.
Probably the largest road project in the town’s immediate future is a complete replacement of the Saw Mill Road bridge. Plaziak said they were “nearing final design” on the project, which would also include road work on either side of the bridge.
Plaziak said the plan was to have that project “out to bid and constructed” by fall 2020.
Other projects still in the planning stage include a sidewalk extension along Route 77, and reconstruction on Bruce Lane, Goose Lane, and Nut Plains Road. Timelines for those depend on a number of factors, including state and federal funding. The Nut Plains Road project will need to go out to town meeting “soon,” said Plaziak.
Construction on both Nut Plains Road and Goose Lane are entirely covered by state bonded money, she said, with the town only responsible for the design. An even newer project to extend sidewalks on Boston Street would be covered in the same way.
Saw Mill Road Bridge and the Route 77 sidewalk are mostly covered by federal programs, she said, with the town responsible for 20 percent of the total design and construction cost. The cost of the bridge replacement is estimated to be $1.7 million.