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08/21/2019 09:12 AMThe long-delayed rehabilitation of the Tuxis Pond walkway, which will be conducted with a $400,000 state grant approved in June 2016, may begin as early as Wednesday, Sept. 3 following Board of Selectmen (BOS) approval of a construction contract last week.
Though Branford-based construction company A. Secondino & Sons was granted the contract at a special BOS meeting on Aug. 13, a new lighting system for the walkway was not included, as it would have pushed the total project cost above the $530,000 previously approved by the town.
The total price of the project, with lighting, is $539,000, according to Assistant Town Engineer Rob Russo. With the state’s $400,000 Responsible Growth and Transit-Oriented Development Grant and an additional $130,000 approved in the town’s 2016-’17 Capital Improvement Program spending, the town came up short for the complete project—for now.
The BOS approved a $391,000 contract to begin work without installing new lighting, though First Selectman Tom Banisch (R) said he would seek to make up the difference with a special appropriation and keep the project on schedule.
“The first part of the job is [demolition],” said Banish. “They’ve got to demolish everything. That is going to take a certain amount of time. We’ll be getting the money approved in the meantime. So by the time they are ready to start the project, the money will be there. That’s our hope.”
The special appropriation needs to be approved by both the BOS and the Board of Finance.
Though the grant was originally meant to cover the entire project, Banisch said the town was able to negotiate with the state to remove the lighting requirement in order to get the project started in a timely manner.
Both Russo and Banisch said getting lighting on the path should be a priority, both for safety and aesthetic reasons.
“It would just make a better product for the people,” said Russo. “I know the weather is nicer in the summer and the spring, but personally I think the walkway gets a lot more use in the fall and sometimes in the winter.”
Improving the walkway will include brand new decking, Russo said, along with structural repairs, and a brand new railing system that Russo described as “a little bit more modern,” and would help make the path more scenic.
Russo said he hopes the project will be “95 percent” completed by early December, including the lighting, if the money is approved.
Safety is a concern as far as ensuring the path is lit. Though Russo pointed out that there has not been any functional lighting on the path for “quite some time,” nearby storefronts and parking lots keep the path from falling into complete darkness.
Banisch and Russo both said that as long as the money is approved, there will be no delays in getting the project completed in its entirety, including a new, sturdier lighting system. Russo said some of the original lights on the path looked like they had been vandalized.
Russo also said he felt timeliness was important as the days grew shorter, and said he knew many people used the walkway to get to the train station.
Though he gave Sept. 3 as an ideal start date, Russo said construction would most likely begin sometime in the week following Labor Day. Bansich said he would seek approval for the special appropriation at the next BOS meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26.