MIDDLEBURY — Thanks to Middlebury voters’ recent approval of two, $3 million bond issues, area residents will see utility improvements, ditching and repaving on several local roads this spring and summer.
While the work will not be as visible and expansive as that performed on the new Cross Street Bridge last summer, the work will slow traffic at times in neighborhoods in and around Middlebury village. The most extensive work, according to Middlebury Director of Operations Dan Werner, will include Stewart Lane, North Street, Buttolph Drive, Rolling Acres, Foote Street, Weybridge Street and Washington Street.
“The next three or four construction seasons will be pretty busy for public works folks,” Werner said. “There are a lot of projects with these bonds.”
The water and highway bonds — each for $3 million — were proposed to allow the town to chip away at a backlog of needed projects that would have otherwise lingered on the town’s to-do list. The town will be taking advantage of favorable interest rates in taking out the bonds, which will be rapid with funds Middlebury sets aside annually for capital improvements.
Major projects scheduled for this construction season will involve:
•  Stewart Lane, which lies between Route 7 and High Street. It will get a new, 8-inch water main to replace the current 4-inch line. Stewart Lane will also get a new sanitary sewer main, new storm sewer, curbing and repaving.
•  North Street, which runs between Stewart Lane and Seminary Street, will get a new storm sewer.
Work on the Stewart Lane and North Street projects is expected to begin in June and last approximately eight weeks.
•  Buttolph Drive will have a new water main from Monroe Street to Brookside Drive. A section of the current sanitary sewer line will be replaced. Workers will also upgrade the storm water drainage system and will install curbing on the west side of the street. Crews will also improve the sidewalks during a project that is expected to take around eight weeks and commence in June.
•  A water main project that will begin just south of Quarry Road and extend into the Rolling Acres subdivision. The 2-inch water main will be upgraded to an 8-inch line. This is a project pegged to begin after Labor Day and last around six weeks, according to Werner. Repaving of the road will occur either this fall of next spring, contingent on when the water main work is completed.
•  A Foote Street water main project. It’s a project that Werner said would begin just north of the Quarry Road/Foote Street intersection and will continue cross-country approximately 4,000 feet back to Foote Street. The project is expected to start in late May and last around 60 days, according to Werner.
•  Weybridge Street, which will get milled and re-paved this summer. Several areas of storm pipe will be replaced. The town will apply for a state grant of $175,000 toward this project, Werner noted.
•  Washington Street, also scheduled to be milled and re-paved this summer from Court Square to Seminary Street. The work is expected to last a couple of weeks, Werner said.
•  A Butternut Ridge water main project, tentatively slated for late this summer. Werner said the project — expected to take around 60 days — will be put out to bid soon. Butternut Ridge is in the northeast corner of Middlebury off Route 116.
•  Culvert replacement jobs this summer on Creek Road, South Street Extension and the intersection of Halpin Road and Halpin Bridge Road.
•  Ditching work on Blake Roy Road and Halpin Road.
Werner noted that the work schedule might also include a water main and storm water project involving portions of Charles Avenue and Water Street. A soil contamination issue has delayed this project, according to Werner. Once insurance issues are resolved, the job is expected to last around eight weeks, Werner said.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].