BRISTOL — Residents of Bristol and those who pass through the village will soon breathe a sigh of relief when driving downtown.
That’s because the construction under North and South streets that has kept portions of the roads unpaved all summer is nearing its completion a month ahead of schedule, according to town administrator Bill Bryant.
The project, which included replacing a section of the town’s stormwater system and upgrades to the water main in the downtown area, began in April and was originally scheduled to conclude in November.
Project engineer Tyler Gingras of Green Mountain Engineering, the Williston-based company heading up the project, said crews are expected to finish repaving the downtown area by the end of next week — about a month ahead of schedule.
“Pretty much all of the underground work is complete,” Gingras said on Wednesday. “Today they’re just doing a couple of additional things.”
Gingras said contractors had been able to put more personnel to work over the summer, so the project progressed more quickly than anticipated.
These things include preparations to repave North Street all the way from Main Street to Pine Street, which the town decided to add on in order to minimize extra road work in the near future.
In April, Gingras said that the $1.38 million project — about half of which was funded by federal stimulus money — would expand the stormwater system, which cannot handle the high capacity of liquids it must carry in times of high rainfall or flooding.
“The project’s budget is looking good,” Gingras said. “That’s a sign that things have gone reasonably according to plan.”
As the project draws to its end, Bryant said he is thankful that the people of Bristol have been tolerant of the months of construction.
“As always, we appreciate the patience and cooperation of our citizens this summer,” he said.
Reporter Andrea Suozzo is at [email protected].