Budget Provides For

Work On Town Roads

By Steve Bigham

Fred Hurley and the Public Works Department slid through this year’s budget season with little mention. They managed to avoid the cutting board, watching instead as town officials aimed their trimmers in other directions when the first proposed budget failed.

That is because the $7.2 million Public Works budget did not see significant increases – only about two percent. The big jumps took place the past couple of years when First Selectman Herb Rosenthal lobbied for additional highway funding to improve the town’s current road situation.

Despite the slight increase, Mr Hurley, the town’s Public Works Department director, is armed with the kind of money needed to tackle these problem areas.

“I think we’ll continue to move ahead. What we told the Board of Selectmen and Legislative Council was if we continue to maintain this kind of funding for the next few years, we could be in reasonably good shape on all our major arteries,” he said this week.

Plenty of money remains in the existing budget, which runs out June 30 – the final day of the fiscal year. Between now and then, Mr Hurley and highway director Joe Tani plan to use that money to continue or begin road improvement work on Hanover Road, Walnut Tree Hill Road, Great Ring Road, Lyrical Lane, and Pilgrim Lane.

According to Mr Tani, capital road improvement work will take place at the lower end of Hanover Road from the town boat launch up to the area just past Pond Brook Road. That section should be complete by late June, but there is more money in next year’s budget to continue the paving project even further up Hanover Road. This job is particularly large, with 2,400 tons of asphalt being used.

Another big contract has begun on Walnut Tree Hill Road, another one of those problem roads that the town has been looking to address for several years. Paving there will take place between Schoolhouse Hill Road and the intersection with Old Green Road. Both drainage repairs and paving will take place along this section, Mr Tani said.

Road improvement work on Great Quarter Road began last year, overlapped into this year, and is expected to continue into next year. Considered to be one of the worst roads in town in terms of its condition, the plan is to re-pave its entire length. 

Pilgrim Lane off Toddy Hill Road is also due for a re-paving.

While most major re-paving projects are done by outside contractors, the town often turns to its own group of highway workers to complete smaller jobs. One of them is on Lyrical Lane, which will undergo a major drainage overhaul.

Mr Tani said the increased funding has made all the difference in the condition of the town’s roads.

“It’s much better than it had been. We’re now able to do big chunks of road each year,” he said.

 On July 1, the new budget takes affect with work continuing on roads where work has already begun. Also, with $1 million worth of capital paving in the budget, Mr Hurley has big plans for other Newtown roads. They include Huntingtown Road, Mile Hill Road South, and Palestine Road. All three will undergo drainage and paving work over the next year.

One million dollars worth of simple paving projects are scheduled to begin on Crabapple Lane, Kale Davis Lane, Leopard Drive, Mountain laurel Lane, Paugussett Road, Osborne Hill Road, Crown Hill Drive, Crown View Drive, Pine Tree Hill Road, Taunton Lake Road, Farrell Road, Philo Curtis Road, Narragansett Road, New Lebbon Road, Boggs Hill Road, Great Quarter Road, Evergreen Road, Daves Lane, Quaker Lane, Green Knolls Lane, and Shepard Hill Road. 

Contractual chip sealing will begin on Hundred Acres Road, Phyllis Lane, Castle Meadow Road, Lantern Drive, Bayberry Drive, River Edge Drive, Bridge End Farm lane, Sunnyview Terrace, Elana Lane, Old Hawleyville Road, Black Walnut Road, Hitfield Road, Carol Ann Drive, Taunton Lake Road, Patricia Lane, Nelson Lane and Nunnawauk Road.

Crack sealing work will take place on Elm Drive, Hundred Acres Road, Phyllis Lane, Lantern Drive, Bayberry Drive, Bennetts Bridge Road, Honey Lane, Nutmeg Lane, Thunder Ridge Road, River Edge Drive, Bridge End Farm lane, Chimney Swift, Timber Mill, and Sunnyview Terrace.

Next year’s highway budget also includes $100,000 for the replacement of guide rails and $62,000 for the restoration of ponds considered to be part of the town’s drainage system.