Grants eyed to fix North Main Street

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Paul Singley, Republican-American

NAUGATUCK — The borough will seek $3.6 million in grants to repair a portion of the pockmarked North Main Street in the Union City section.

On Tuesday, the Board of Mayor and Burgesses gave Mayor Robert Mezzo authority to apply for the funding from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, which reviews and administers state grant applications from its member communities.

The borough describes North Main Street in its grant application as an urban minor arterial road, which is highly traveled and runs parallel to Route 8 and connects exits 27 and 28. The portion that will be fixed has a mix of residences and businesses, including a pub, a funeral home, an automotive transmission shop and a package store.

The proposed project would include repaving about 2,400 linear feet of North Main Street from Calvin Street to Union Street, installation of 3,000 linear feet of new sidewalk, storm drainage system repairs and improvements.

Mezzo recently submitted a letter in support of the application to Rick Dunne, executive director of the Naugatuck Valley COG.

“North Main Street is an important link from the highway to the adjoining neighborhoods and surrounding area,” he wrote. “Reconstruction of this section of North Main Street will improve traffic flow and aid in revitalizing this area of Naugatuck to the benefit of the businesses, residences and community facilities located there.”

Public Works Director James Stewart, a certified professional engineer and land surveyor, states in his application that the existing roadway pavement is in poor condition and sidewalks are deteriorating.

“Road drainage is inadequate, ponding of water is a significant problem during heavy rains,” he wrote. “The road also has two sets of trolley tracks embedded in the asphalt which are reflecting through the pavement and should be removed.”

He said there are no anticipated right of way issues or environmental impacts from the project. He said the Connecticut Water Co. has completed a water main replacement project on the road this summer, and Eversource has scheduled a gas main replacement on North Main Street for summer 2016. The sanitary sewer lines in the area have been video inspected and have been determined to be in serviceable condition, Stewart wrote.

If the application is approved, the municipality would have to pay $250,000 in design fees, but the $3.6 million worth of construction would be entirely state grant funded. If the grant is approved, the design and construction plans would need to be approved by the state Department of Transportation, a process that would likely push construction back until the summer of 2017, Stewart said.