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03/03/2021 07:00 AMThis week, the town approved the low bidder for a construction firm to replace the Saw Mill Road bridge, a project that has been discussed and planned over the last four years or so, with construction likely to begin this spring and hopefully finish before winter.
Coming in with a bid of $2,513,775, Xenelis Construction of Middlefield will take on the project, which includes a total replacement of the bridge that crosses the West River just north of Hubbard Road, and will include some ancillary work on the nearby road. Eighty percent of the project is federally funded, and the local match portion will likely be covered mostly, if not entirely, by state funding, according to First Selectman Matt Hoey.
Back in 2017 the state determined the bridge was aging and in need of replacement, and the process to design and contract the project proceeded slowly with shifting timelines, which officials attributed to several factors including environmental concerns, the state approval process, and new staff in Town Hall. It was originally aimed to begin construction last spring.
But Town Engineer Janice Plaziak said she expects to give Xenelis the go-ahead to start on April 1, which will precipitate road detours as they begin the process of demolishing and rebuilding the bridge.
The town has a preliminary outline of the construction timeline and how traffic will be routed, and Plaziak said all that information will be communicated to the public as soon as all the specifics are finalized.
Of the approximately $680,000 that Guilford is required to put up for the project, the town has about $580,000 set aside from a state grant program called LOCIP, or Local Capital Improvement Program. Those funds come in the form of an annual block grant, which towns can use on various specific infrastructure needs, including dams, sewers, bridges, parks, memorials, sidewalks, and roads among many other categories, according to the state’s Office of Policy and Management.
The town is expecting another $137,000 this year, which would allow LOCIP to fully cover Guilford’s share of the project. Though Plaziak cautioned that money has not yet been received, officials expressed confidence there would be no direct cost to taxpayers in the end.
At a Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on March 1, some selectmen questioned how qualified Xenelis was to take on a relatively complicated bridge replacement project.
“I want to reiterate the concerns about the lack of bridge experience,” said Selectman Sue Renner. “I understand the points about the process with federal funding and so on, but certainly if we have to approve this then we do have a part in the process.”
Xenelis built a bridge in Westbrook, the Lynn Road Bridge, a project that was completed in 2019, though it was unclear if the firm had other bridge construction experience.
Because the project is overseen by the state and funded by the federal government, the town has less “leeway” and it is “very hard not to accept the low bidder if they are qualified,” according to Plaziak.
But she added that the state vouched that Xenelis had “some” bridge experience, and has a relatively rigorous vetting process overall. She said she personally did not have doubts about the firm’s qualifications.
“We would be putting ourselves in some jeopardy on the funding side of this project to not award it to [Xenelis] at this time,” Plaziak said.
The town also has a performance bond posted by Xenelis that is meant to guarantee Guilford’s satisfaction with the project as well as ongoing inspection services that will provide “an enormous amount of oversight” of the project, according to Plaziak, including the involvement of her office, which has to approve certain parts of the project.
“It’s not like we just give the guy the plans and say, ‘Go build it.’ It’s a very well [overseen] process,” said Plaziak.
Plaziak said the hope is to have the new bridge open and running before the first snow of 2021.