Town of Norwich begins work on nearly half its roads for the next month
NORWICH – Taking advantage of the stalled state budget, the Town of Norwich began seasonal work Thursday on a number of roads without state aid after securing a lower cost for the needed materials.
Supervisor Dave Law explained that due to the delay in the state’s budget, many municipalities have also delayed their regular road maintenance over concerns they may not be receiving enough aid to cover their expenses.
Law said the town received $71,000 through the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program last year from the state. The CHIP money is annually doled out to communities across the state to help them pay for road repairs, but in the face of the current economic crisis and budget shortfall, many are concerned the funds will be reduced or cut, explained Law.
“We’ve been very conservative over the years and even though we haven’t received our CHIP yet, we’re in a position to purchase a lot of supplies from businesses looking for work. It’s because of a delay in work due to the state budget being late – nobody knows how much, if any money, there going to get,” he said.
Law said the town was able to purchase the routine material and equipment usually used for its road work at a reduced cost due to the lull in the current spending.
The town spent $65,000 from its Highway Reserve Fund for the materials, leaving about $50,000 in the bank. Assuming the town receives aid from the state, the money will be returned to the fund, Law said. If the municipality receives no aid or a reduced amount, he said the town could absorb the costs.
“The roads need to be cared for one way or the another. Considering the state of things currently, we thought it was better to act when it seemed more economical instead of waiting for the budget because that’s when everybody else will be doing the work,” he said.
Law estimated that the cost of the materials such as asphalt, tar and oil would only go up as municipalities attempt to catch back up on their delayed work, once the budget is approved.
“Luckily we’re in a good fiscal position compared to some and can take advantage of the current situation,” he said.
In conjunction with its own spending, the town’s request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for aid due to flood damages in 2008 was recently approved.
“The north end of Wells Road from State Highway 23 to the top of Wells Road will be widened and new drainage pipes will be put in, using about $46,000 of flood damage aid from FEMA,” said Law
Wells Road will be under construction for about three weeks and the town will notify area residents through a mailed notices and posted signs.
Much of the work was scheduled to begin in the latter part of June, but some of the work was pushed forward and began yesterday, explained Law. The work is expected to be completed by early July.
“Everything is really going to get moving by at least the first week of June, and to the end of July we’re going to be really aggressive in our road work completed,” he said.
Currently the town cares for about 42 miles or roadway and 21 miles are expected to receive at least some level of maintenance this year with 17 different roads affected.
Roads to received maintenance this summer:
Wells
Randel
Wheden
Hale
Fuller
Bartlet
Marshall-Spur
Tiffany
Hoag
Sharman
Red Fox
Tanner
Jones
Pat Farley
Holmesville Hill
Supervisor Dave Law explained that due to the delay in the state’s budget, many municipalities have also delayed their regular road maintenance over concerns they may not be receiving enough aid to cover their expenses.
Law said the town received $71,000 through the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program last year from the state. The CHIP money is annually doled out to communities across the state to help them pay for road repairs, but in the face of the current economic crisis and budget shortfall, many are concerned the funds will be reduced or cut, explained Law.
“We’ve been very conservative over the years and even though we haven’t received our CHIP yet, we’re in a position to purchase a lot of supplies from businesses looking for work. It’s because of a delay in work due to the state budget being late – nobody knows how much, if any money, there going to get,” he said.
Law said the town was able to purchase the routine material and equipment usually used for its road work at a reduced cost due to the lull in the current spending.
The town spent $65,000 from its Highway Reserve Fund for the materials, leaving about $50,000 in the bank. Assuming the town receives aid from the state, the money will be returned to the fund, Law said. If the municipality receives no aid or a reduced amount, he said the town could absorb the costs.
“The roads need to be cared for one way or the another. Considering the state of things currently, we thought it was better to act when it seemed more economical instead of waiting for the budget because that’s when everybody else will be doing the work,” he said.
Law estimated that the cost of the materials such as asphalt, tar and oil would only go up as municipalities attempt to catch back up on their delayed work, once the budget is approved.
“Luckily we’re in a good fiscal position compared to some and can take advantage of the current situation,” he said.
In conjunction with its own spending, the town’s request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for aid due to flood damages in 2008 was recently approved.
“The north end of Wells Road from State Highway 23 to the top of Wells Road will be widened and new drainage pipes will be put in, using about $46,000 of flood damage aid from FEMA,” said Law
Wells Road will be under construction for about three weeks and the town will notify area residents through a mailed notices and posted signs.
Much of the work was scheduled to begin in the latter part of June, but some of the work was pushed forward and began yesterday, explained Law. The work is expected to be completed by early July.
“Everything is really going to get moving by at least the first week of June, and to the end of July we’re going to be really aggressive in our road work completed,” he said.
Currently the town cares for about 42 miles or roadway and 21 miles are expected to receive at least some level of maintenance this year with 17 different roads affected.
Roads to received maintenance this summer:
Wells
Randel
Wheden
Hale
Fuller
Bartlet
Marshall-Spur
Tiffany
Hoag
Sharman
Red Fox
Tanner
Jones
Pat Farley
Holmesville Hill
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