Selectmen voted in a special meeting last week to spend more than $7,000 to rebid a portion of a traffic calming project in order to hold on to $90,000 in state funding.
“If we don’t continue with this project, the town will have to pay back close to $90,000,” said chair Sturdy Thomas.
The project includes rebuilding the eastern end of Old Common Road so it comes to a 90 degree intersection with Route 101, and the Safe Routes to School program, a state-funded program designed to create easier transportation access for students who are walking to school. The town completed the first phase of the project, which included the rotary near town hall, new sidewalks, and new granite curbing, in 2011.
The board originally voted to approve rebidding the project, as long as the cost didn’t exceed $2,500.
“It came in higher than expected, but our engineer misspoke last time we met with him,” said Town Administrator Sherry Miller, in an interview Thursday.
“He had thought we were just rebidding the Safe Routes to School part of the project.”
With state funds available to complete the project at an 80/20 match, the board decided to rebid.
— By Nicholas Handy