By Andreas Yilma Citizen’s News
BEACON FALLS — The town has received the final approval to obtain state funds for the reconstruction of Burton Road.
The Board of Selectmen Sept. 12 authorized First Selectman Gerard Smith to sign the Burton Road reconstruction letter from the Department of Transportation for the final authorization to receive money from the state.
The town on Dec. 24, 2020 closed the section of Burton Road from Wolfe Avenue to North Main Street to traffic due to structural issues and fears the road could fail.
The closed section of the road, which has a sidewalk on one side and a stone wall on the other, goes over a brook that runs behind the Beacon Mill Village apartments. The road has shifted due to erosion of its foundation from the brook.
The state Department of Transportation has committed to give the town $2.9 million to fix the road through the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program.
The funds are administered by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.
Smith said the funds are available when needed for the project and the town is opening up the bid project.
The town is looking for bids from qualified respondents for the street restoration, which includes the removal and installation of a concrete retaining wall, full-depth reconstruction, paving, installation of new concrete curbing, driveway aprons, monolithic concrete sidewalks, storm drainage modifications, new signs and pavement markings, according to a post on the town website.
Bid respondents must have shown experience in completing similar work. The bid submission deadline is Wednesday, the post states.
Some work has already begun to get closer to the reconstruction of the road and, eventually, reopen one of the main travel arteries in the downtown area.
Aquarion workers replaced roughly 1,000 feet of a water main on Burton Road on July 12. The water main was about 100 years old.
Hiltbrand Construction workers installed about 1,500 feet of a new sewer line to replace the roughly 70-year old sewer line on Burton Road on Aug. 24. Installation of the new sewer was expected to be finished around mid September.
Smith said he expects some more work to be done this year and is hopeful to have the project completed by late spring 2023.
